Daily Archives: August 13, 2008

Orchestrated Update

Total word count, Orchestrated: 4,050
New words today: Math tells me that there were 989, which isn’t the 1,000 I wanted but close enough for government work.

I shoved the story forward and started writing the next major plot point, and you know what? The story works perfectly well this way. I usually need to figure out how the story gets from A to B and I usually do it through writing. The in-between stuff often gets cut out, although it gives me valuable insight into character make-up and lives and motivation and secret dreams and so forth. This time, I just stepped over where the in-between stuff would normally be and picked the story up again. Maybe this synopsis thing will work for me after all. Whatever the reason, today it was easier to write the plot point than the stuff that would bridge to it.

So it feels like the actual story has begun. That’s a good feeling. Not that the previous 3K words weren’t story; it’s just that they were set-up and background and initial propulsion of character trajectory, and today’s work begins the setup of the Conflict part of the story. Or introduces the character who will initiate the series of events that build into Actual Conflict and create An Obstacle for my protagonist.

I would have had many more words had I not needed to refer to a list of characters that I knew I’d worked up. I couldn’t find the file anywhere. I searched through three sets of backups, to no avail. Then, after forty minutes of tearing out my hair, I realized that I’d wanted to print it out for ready reference. Where would I have put a printout like that if I’d managed to make one? I wondered, then spun my chair around, leaned forward, and pulled a file folder out from between two research books on the shelf reserved for my ongoing writing research. Voila: One file of hard copy reference stuff. I have no idea what happened to the computer file. I’ll have to retype it all, but at least I don’t have to do all the work of thinking characters up again and naming them and giving them quirks.

Jan brought me a USB hub that my computer recognises! Huzzah!

Busy

Yesterday was mostly good, with one huge time-out-worthy aberration just before dinner. Ten minutes’ worth of time out, in fact.

I made a single jar of jam this morning. I ordered new glasses, paid some bills, crossed another couple of things off my To-Do list, and now have (of course!) run out of steam, twenty minutes before Jan is due to show up for our weekly writing jam. If I am completely useless at the writing thing I may switch to doing the local freelance stuff that landed in my inbox at lunchtime.

I also had a half-hour conversation with an orchestra contact this morning. Looks like we have an executive meeting next week, and while I’m not an official member of the executive I seem to be invited along like last time because I have Valuable Input.

I need to reformat the laptop at some point today (or possibly tomorrow) as well, so I can give Liam something to do while I work (he is in love with Youtube because it has Veggie Tales and Thomas episodes, and there is always Peep!). Because if I’m on the computer he wants to be on the computer, which makes working while he’s at home somewhat of a challenge.

Off to write, come what may. There’s a thousand words of Orchestrated on my list of Things To Do that needs to crossed off.