4:45 Addendum — After months of being frozen in place the word meter has moved–Sweet Taboo, 47,406. Think I can take a break now.
Took the day off so I can work on Sweet Taboo, and brainstorm a couple stories for anthology submissions. Outside the sun’s on high; it’s going to be a scorching Friday, and as much as I’m tempted to wander about–perhaps I’ll take my story stuff and go sit somewhere else to work today just to be out. Sunshine and blue skies–not to be missed.
For a cat who lives in the lap of luxury, Levi is as twitchy as a rabbit facing a pack of wolves. Being a repressed lap kitty, he likes hanging out near me, but at my slightest move, reaching for something, turning the page of my book, he jumps out of his skin. I promptly apologize, earning a beady-eyed feline stare, the equivalent of “Hey I’m walkin here!” Once he’s regained his composure, I get a paw slap and a nip for causing him to momentarily lose his dignity. Really, he forgets who pays the mortgage and keeps the water fountain and food bowl full of goodness. The cat never fails to amuse.
Black Satin, George Barbier
Think I’m compressing too much in Sweet Taboo; must give the story space to breathe. Also, my ghostslayer Nathaniel is not right for this story afterall. He’s taking it down a distracting path, putting a blind curve in my sweetly winding road. I don’t want to go there so Nathaniel–back to the swamp with you!
Got my dvd sets of True Blood and Blood Ties yesterday. Watched two delightful episodes of True Blood. Also, from Netflix, watched Deliverance, which I’d not seen, ‘though I did read the novel–I think, years ago. Excellent film. The scene that really touched me, which brought home the theme, was where Jon Voight’s character cries at the kindness of the folk at the dinner table, after the terrible ordeal he and his river-touring buddies went through. Both novel and film are superbly structured from that singular incident that turned a pleasure trip into a nightmare and its effect on each of the characters–a writing lesson right there. At the movie’s end, each of the surviving characters was significantly changed from how they were at the movie’s start, and you could see it in the subtle performances of Voight, Beatty, and Reynolds.
Seems I’m back to posting again. That’s a good sign. d:)
A Classical Beauty, John William Godward
The weekend all blue and gold, draped and drenched in sunlight, a real summer weekend at last! Saturday afternoon, after coming home from my writer’s meeting, I worked a little on the November 2008 NaNo manuscript. I’ve got the skeleton of the plot fully laid out in my head, but the rewrite will take more time and focus than I have to give right now.
At the meeting I read Three Heartbeats, received excellent and useful feedback–don’t know what I’m going to do to resolve some of the issues the story has, but it can rest a while in the swamp.
Sunday I worked on Sweet Taboo, trying to figure out what to do from the point where I am, and this morning, doing story notes for it, I got more insight about the theme(s) and now know where to take each character’s storyline. Demario is turning significant, and will be a linchpin for Deidre’s action. Randall will come to a certain realization, and Kenny…well Kenny has a ways to go in his struggle, but he’ll get his epiphany. I think the ghostslayer Nathaniel will help with that.
I’ve finally got each thread focused, and I can see ahead a little. I was beginning to think I’d be lost in the fog hovering over this story for a while longer, but looks like I’ve got a chance to finish the rewrite with a very satisfying conclusion. Aiming to have it done by December 31st.
Watched more Blood Ties online, and the later stories raised my opinion of the series; still think True Blood is better, but I like this show, particularly enjoyed the love triangle between Mike, Vicky, and Henry, (beautifully played by Kyle Schmid) and the snappy dialogue. Have only the final show left to watch, but I’ve ordered both seasons from Amazon. Good series; too bad it was canceled after two seasons. Why did they do that? There was terrific set-up for Vicky’s demon marks, and it looked like Mike and Henry might come to terms in some way, possibly, somewhere down the line, and of course there was Vicky’s and Henry’s relationship. Damn! I really wanted to see that continue.
Sliding toward late August, and summer feels as if it did no more than dip a toe into California this year. This, I think, is the coolest summer we’ve had in at least a decade. We’ve had a few golden days, but they haven’t been constant; I feel as if summer hasn’t happened yet, and all too soon for my peace of mind the days will shorten and darken, the time will change, and winter will be upon us. I would be perfectly happy to live in a place where summer is eternal, where winter doesn’t happen, and the clock need never lose or gain an hour. Anyone have a tropical island for sale, cheap? Really cheap? Cheaper than that? How about free?
At least I’ve got my novels–most of which seem to be at rest lately, but only because I’m contemplating what to do in the long plots. Stuff’s going on in the swamp, but nothing’s floated to the surface yet. Meanwhile, in between the daily zombie run, I’m working on a short story or two.
I’m very pleased at having finished Three Heartbeats, and now I’m thinking about a sword and sorcery tale that’s been unfinished in my files awhile, and a vampire short story that I’m starting from scratch. I’m going to read Three Heartbeats at my writer’s group meeting on Saturday.
So where am I with the novels?
Sweet Taboo — hanging fire still; can’t find the way to the end.
A Lamentation of Swans — have given it the Medusa glare so often it’s turned to stone.
Loose Daddy – still loose.
And I’m also engaged in rewriting the November 2008 NaNo manuscript, which has a good plot, and I’m thinking the second draft will be all it needs.
Hope springs eternal.
While I’m not looking forward to the dark days of winter, the changing of the time, the long crawl through the end of the year, I can hardly wait until November gets here!
Ten days ago I said I would write…start writing the synopsis for Loose Daddy. Have not written word one. Oh well.
But I finished Three Heartbeats, (formerly The Girl in the Swamp Forest) which I began writing four or so months ago. That’s the first time I’ve finished a short story in less than, let’s say, many years, in a long time. Perhaps I’m improving. I’ll go over it again, but I’m pleased with it and with myself for finishing it without my usual franxiety (frantic anxiety) and silent wailing.
Meanwhile, I re-read my 2008 Nano manuscript and fell into its allure. This week I assembled a working outline, which I’ll expand, along with writing additional story notes. I cut the 55,030 words down to 30,000 or so–got rid of stuff that didn’t suit–so I could take a good look at the story bones and see what to do. I love this story.
Yesterday Netflix delivered the first dvd of Blood Ties, the Canadian vampire series based on Tanya Huff’s novels, which I have not read. I watched the episodes with some impatience, not really taking to the main characters, except Henry Fitzroy. I ordered all of Season 1, but I think Henry will be the only reason I keep watching, for a while anyway. I think True Blood is better. True Blood’s characters have more depth, more dimension, and the episodes are better plotted. I’ll see how it goes with Blood Ties.
The September issue of The Horror Zine is up, and Ghost of Roses is published! Yay! Do go and read. d:))
I seem to have forgotten about A Lamentation of Swans, but really I haven’t. It’s always on my mind. I’ve worked on Swans, with long breaks in between, since 1996–I think that’s when I wrote the first 30 pages of it. It’s changed over the years, but not much. The main characters are still with me and the main storyline is still there too, with slight alterations and additions that have deepened it, but brought me no closer to the kind of development that leads through to the end of the book.
I make progress when I work on it, but at some point it all becomes too much and I’m overwhelmed, defeated once more by the weight of themes, character, and plot, but I return to it time after time because there is a great story there, and every time I re-read what I’ve written, I fall in love with it again.
Yesterday I revised The Girl in the Swamp Forest and re-titled it Three Heartbeats–so much better. Also a strange duplication had occurred in the manuscript. Once I discovered that and deleted it, the story turned out to be not 5,404 words, but 3,779. Anyway, it’s done and I like it.
50,000/50,000
100%
New goal: 25/60,000
