2 – House of Error

Just Watched #4 – Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

Disclaimer: Man, yesterday was one of the worst days of my life in recent times. Nothing life-alteringly horrible happened, but plenty (like too many) small things went horribly wrong. There was the having-a-long-heated-debate-with-a-friend-about-why-I-don’t-date part. There was the discovering-the-spot-of-grease-that-was-smeared-all-over-the-foot-of-the-stairs-in-my apartment-building part, during which I took a comically bad fall and landed on my hand and hip. There was also (after the grease) the “Oh-cool-it’s-a-thunderstorm-now-that-I’ve-hauled-my-clothes-out-to-the-laundromat” part; I had an umbrella, thankfully, but it wasn’t big enough for me and my clothes.

So, all of that is to say I got home, had gelato, watched Luther, and refused to write this post until today. Sorry it’s a little late, but enjoy.

So, last week, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy. I know that Wonder Woman is out and I still really want to see that, but my order of interest in comic movies will always start with Marvel, then go to DC. Because, after Batman V Superman, and how many people swore that movie was good, I’m just inclined to believe all DC movies are worse than everyone makes them out to be. I still want to support Wonder Woman, sure, but if Marvel suddenly released a Squirrel Girl movie on the same morning the new Batman came out, you better believe I’m watching Squirrel Girl instead.

That said though . . . man was Guardians 2 disappointing. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it overall, but it feels like the end of the road for the “fun Marvel movie” formula.

That formula being “Jokes! Jokes everywhere!”

Granted, there were parts of the formula that didn’t crop up, like “the completely non-threatening, zero stakes villain” that plagues a ton of Marvel movies, but Guardians 2 still absolutely failed to balance its action and humor. That’s often a problem with comic movies . . .

. . . but Guardians 2 fails to make that balance in the worst way: by sacrificing good action . . . for a ton of unfunny jokes.

And that lack of balance is what I took from the movie, writing-wise. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The movie opens with the Guardians fighting an inter-dimensional monster for exposition. You think to yourself, “Oh, sweet. This is going to be some awesome exposition!”

Nope. That action scene is immediately undermined . . . by baby Groot dancing.

It’s supposed to be cheeky irreverence for the action scene, making the high stakes into a joke.

But, no, it doesn’t work. Because that kind of joke only works when it’s used to undermine something the audience doesn’t want to see. Namely, any scene that an audience can fill in the blanks for — something they don’t need to see to understand.

But the Guardians were fighting a tentacle monster that was vomiting rainbows everywhere. Why the fuck would I not want to see every second of that? More to the point, why would I not want to see that instead of more dancing Groot?

That intro sets up a really bad joke climate for the entire movie, making more of its humor start out at a deficit, which means that the best parts of the movie are its genuine action and drama.

I wound up loving Nebula, which I didn’t expect; I also wound up wishing that one of her best lines wasn’t undermined by yet another joke without legs.

One of the better parts of the film was Yandu’s escape, an action scene that almost went uninterrupted by a recurring bad joke.

I liked the villain and felt like the climax of the movie was high stakes . . . although it also tried to break its own intensity with another joke that reminded me of Pixels (so, ya know, the worst kind of joke there is).

What I’m saying here is . . . Guardians 2 made me realize that the delicate balance between action and humor works both ways.

When a story should have levity but doesn’t, that’s bad.

When a story should have levity, but it has way, way too much of it, that’s also bad.

And that matters to me especially because there was a point when Memory had way too much levity.

When I originally sent it out to friends, some thought it was great and didn’t need any huge changes.

Others were honest about how annoying they felt the protagonist was.

My Friend: “He does a lot of thinking about doing something bad, then doing it anyway. And that’s annoying.”

Me: “Uh huh.”

My Friend: “It’s like reading a Silver Age comic, where they talk about — ”

Me: “Omfg, dude, okay. I get it. I swear I’m horrified and I get it.”

They went on to explain that some of his moments were cringy, and, on my next read, I absolutely saw what they were talking about — a lot of placeholder jokes that I just dropped in and forgot because I was trying to hit my NaNoWriMo count for the day.

Now, Kole Buchanan is the same character, but with his bad jokes fixed or excised altogether. He’s also more capable, less whiny.

What I’m saying is, fixing the balance between humor and action in my own novel was an important first step on a road I’m finally nearing the end of.

So, watching Guardians 2, seeing Drax laugh really hard at something for the umpteenth time, I had a quiet sigh of relief.

Thank God for honest friends.

~~~

Hope you enjoyed that one. As a man who has only recently found his way through the Marvel-nurtured struggle of levity VS drama, it’s good to be on the other side. Assuming that I am on the other side and the jokes in Memory are actually funny and well-timed . . . Yeah, I’m-a get back to editing now.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Louis Santiago, and I’m a fantasy writer based in the Bronx. My short story, “Aixa the Hexcaster,” was published last year in Mirror Dance Fantasy. However, I’m still very much learning about the writing process — still trying to figure it out — which means posting here every week, even though I make absolutely no money from it. So, if you like what you read here and feel up to getting updates by email — a new post from me delivered right to your inbox — then please hit the Follow button at the bottom of this page. Because, even though all I get from this site is emotional support, that support means the world to me.

I’m actually going to go grab a breakfast burger and Advil for my hip. Then I’m going to eat, bing-watch some more Luther, and then edit. That’s my sick day plan, and I hope your plans for today, whatever they are, are awesome.

Thanks again just for stopping by, and, as always, write well.

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 30: Reflection

Well… I made it. Day 30.

Somehow, even though I didn’t struggle to write posts this time–even though I didn’t spend hours finding writing spots, getting pictures, working on the MS, and posting afterward–I’m way more relieved now than I was at the end of 30 Days 1.

I’m not sure why. The obvious answer would be, “Well, because you can spend more of your writing time actually working on the novel.” And, sure, maybe that’s it.

But maybe I also just need a break. Especially after today. A brief summary:

After feeling my throat getting sore yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night and vommed.
Woke up hours later, determined to go to work and write, although, for the first time ever, I really, really wanted to call out.
Got to work, told a manager I might need to leave early, and they told me it was alright if I just left immediately instead. Which was awesome.
Basically stumbled home, thinking both, A) “Man, I’m so glad I didn’t get sick earlier in the month,” and B) “But WHY TODAY?”
Got progressively dizzier and grosser as I stumbled home. Does this happen to anyone else? It was 60 degrees or so outside, but it felt like summer. Like hot, deathy summer.
I went to the supermarket to get soup, tea, and honey. I then struggled those things home, which should’ve been easy, only I was multi-tasking–struggling soup, tea, and honey home while also dying.
Realized that the weird, unwieldy set up I had going to carry all of my junk (coat slung over umbrella, held in one hand, sick person goods in the other hand) was a terrible idea, because everything that was in my inner coat pocket had fallen out. Everything in this case meant money. I don’t even know how much. And I don’t wanna think about it.

So, this is the part where I make an excuse, right? This is when I’m like, “So, with all of that bullshit, I just refused to write.”

Words for the Day: 1,326

NaNoWriMo Total: 14,366

Against all odds, I wrote over a thousand words and finished up chapter 2, as planned, leaving me with the rest of the book–the adventure–to work on in the next few months.

And… to me, saying all of that was the best possible way to send off 30 Days 2. Not by just talking about what I learned from it, but illustrating it.

With 30 Days 1, I learned what I consider the basics of my writing approach. My personal How-To write a novel. I do it quickly, writing every day, editing important things as I go, focusing on completing something clean that I like, without stopping.

But what I learned from 30 Days 2 is that I don’t ever have to stop. If NaNoWriMo 2014 taught me that I could write a novel when I had a free a month, NaNoWriMo 2016 taught me that, no, fuck that “free month” bullshit. If you’ve got it, great, but if you don’t, there’s a way to do it write a novel while you’re incredibly busy.

And that way is simply… finding your schedule.

As stupid and easy as that sounds, all it takes is sitting down and thinking, “Well… when do I like to write? In what condition do I do my best writing? And how can I make sure I’m in that position every day, regardless of what the world throws at me?”

For me, it’s early in the morning, before work. Or, well, early in the “whatever qualifies as morning” (today, it was early in the 1 PM when I woke up from my gross, sick-person coma). I learned to respect those times–those hours of my day–as writing time.

But I also learned to respect everything-else time. I learned that you can’t just shove away recreation–that there’s no quitting it cold turkey; I need to unwind after being productive. I need to play video games, watch a movie, hang out with a friend, watch YouTube, look up pictures of shaved animals, which I did yesterday (hairless chimpanzees are about 1,000,000% more intimidating than they are with fur, btw). And I learned that doing those things isn’t something to be ashamed of. Because feeling bad about doing any of those things isn’t fair to me.

And because it’s the start of the procrastination cycle: “Well, I didn’t write last night, so I feel like shit today and want a distraction even more, so fuck it–I’m going to write later tonight. And now I am writing, but it’s hard again, because it’s late, I’m tired, and fuck this shit–I’ll do it tomorrow!”

I guess the best way to put it then is… I learned how to write and be happy… at the same time.

Which means I’ve learned to write consistently. Tomorrow, I don’t stop; I wake up, shower, write, then deal with whatever the rest of the day throws at me.

And having that–learning how to do that–is something I’m incredibly grateful for. If I could tell any writer to do anything, it’s this: learn how to write on a schedule that makes you happy. Because that’s a schedule you can keep forever.

~~~

Well, that’s it. 30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 is officially over. I’d like to thank everyone who read, liked, followed, and commented. I genuinely wouldn’t have made it without your support. Even if I somehow slogged through the last 30 days without backup, these posts would’ve gotten so much less happy, so much more frustrated. So, really, thank you.

I’m probably going to take a month off from posting, in part because I need a break and December is the perfect month for that, but I’ll be back next year, bright and early, to update and talk about the different facets of writing fantasy.

Until then, thank you again for reading! And, as always, write well.

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 29: The Need to Improve

Today’s writing session went extremely well. I was able to figure out the scene that’d given me grief yesterday, bringing me well within range of finishing the second chapter tomorrow. Which is awesome. Especially because it turns out there’ll be a fight scene between Sydney and someone else at the end of the chapter. I am excitedly cracking my knuckles. Fight scenes are my jam, and although this one will be very short, writing it is still going to be really comforting and familiar.

Also comforting and familiar–although maybe it wouldn’t seem awesome at first: spotting clear room for improvement.

At this point in my writing career, visible room for improvement is amazing. Because the alternative, flaws that you totally can’t see, is far, far worse.

As I wrote today, here were some of the mental notes I made:

Review Sydney’s motivations. Because they’re super important and need to work beautifully.
Add more descriptions for Greenfield. Make it feel like a place, not a background.
Find the perfect level of “Modis’ friends,” which currently feels a bit too far on the “He has friends?” side of the scale.
And, of course, as always… review names! From “Greenfield” all the way down to “Modis,” with its awkward possessive apostrophe situation.

There are, of course, other tweaks I’ll have to make, but they’ll all come easily as I write the book.

Whether they come easily or not though, it’s nice to see that whole part of the process in the distance.

And it’s amazing to be really excited for finishing this novel and reaching to the point where I get to edit it.

Because feeling any of this means I’ve come full circle again. Before NaNo 2016, I’d been so worried about editing other things, slowly burning out on how much I could improve. Struggling with important edits that I knew needed doing. Now, with something new to work on, I’m in love with the process all over again.

And I’m hopeful, which is something I definitely wasn’t when 30 Days 2 started. I’m hopeful that I can make everything work.

Tomorrow’s the last day of this journey. It’ll be a long few months to get the novel done.

But, no matter how long it takes, I’m going to complete another novel. One that I get to edit until it’s mind-blowing. Until it’s as epic as I imagined it being when I was 15, but as meaningful and emotionally powerful as I imagined it being ages later, when I redesigned it (without the killer clown doll).

And, that said, I’m gonna get to bed. Because I’m extremely tired…

… and I can’t wait to get to Day 30.

Words for the Day: 991

NaNoWriMo Total: 13,030

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 28: The Perspective Shuffle

Well, today was a bust.

I hit a hurdle, but it’s one I was able to figure out eventually. The solution required me to scrap today’s work and start over though, so I’m just saving that for tomorrow morning. Today, I realized a problem and was able to figure out its solution–that’s enough for me.

What the problem actually was: I went for another new perspective–that of Modis’ dad, Athus. Not because I was eager to add another’s character’s viewpoint, but because that’s what I thought would work best for the scene. And parts of it were good, but problems arose when Sydney and Modis showed up, and I started switching between their perspectives. What was supposed to be a hectic reunion preceding an escape turned into a slog through the feelings of multiple characters.

A sin that I’ve written about, lovingly known as “the Tea Party.”

A few pages into everyone’s feelings, I realized I was a few pages too deep. Not because characters’ emotions don’t matter, but because, as readers, we like variety. And also because there’s logically a time for running first, asking questions later.

Fortunately, this entire realization came with the certainty that cutting out Athus’ feelings would solve things. Not because I dislike him or something… but because he’s not prominent in the rest of the story and I have to prioritize.

As a man who generally keeps a tight lid on perspective, this was an interesting lesson for me. Although I’ve read novels where a bunch of perspectives where handled with omniscient third person no problem, I just don’t like having too many detailed perspectives in one scene, regardless of freedom of perspective. For me, “too many” means more than two. And priority for those two always has to go to Modis and Sydney, even if they’re in a scene with Silestein–currently the only other character who gets the perspective treatment. It’s just cleaner. And better.

And I like cleaner and better. Especially now that I realize there are just two more sessions before the end of 30 Days. It’s actually going to be a struggle to finish chapter two in two sessions.

But, I mean, of course it will be. Why would I think there wouldn’t be a tense deadline at the end of this thing? It’s writing!

But whatever, man. I can do two scenes a day. That’s right–you heard me, deadlines. Fight me on the streets.

Words for the Day: 0

NaNoWriMo Total: 11,887

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 27: The Timeline of Silestein Grey

Yesterday’s scene was… amazingly refreshing.

As I sat down to write, I realized that I should do a scene from the perspective of a very important side character; someone who’s actually essential to the plot (unlike Taurean, who I mentioned in a previous post). The character in question is Silestein Grey. She was created when I re-envisioned this story (so maybe two or three years ago), and thus, yesterday morning, as I wrote her first scene, I got to decide on her Talent (magical superpower) and a bunch of other details about her past–particularly with Sydney. All in all, it was short and essential.

It was also so new that I was actually giddy when I was done.

Because that’s the thing about writing something you’ve been planning since high school–almost everything about the story has been decided for ages, so when you get the chance to get creative with a newer part of it, you lose it.

The extent of my losing it: I thought about Silestein for hours at work. I planned flashbacks for her and Sydney, thought up future scenes that I’m incredibly excited for.

And I also thought it might be fun to lay down a rough timeline of her character–if only to show how I make up some of my characters.

Two years ago, she started as “Sydney’s ex.”
With just that title, I took a while to figure out if she should be a man or a woman. That makes it sound like there was a ton of deliberation on the subject, but there wasn’t; I just imagined Sydney with a female ex for a week or so, then switched and imagined her with a male ex. In the end, a female ex just felt right for some reason. Possibly because I thought it would make the most sense for Sydney to date someone non-confrontational, and the imagined ex-boyfriend was constantly challenging her feelings instead of trying to understand them.
The second chapter opened with “Sydney’s ex” being non-confrontational–talking someone down while Sydney watched. I picked the placeholder name “Zidia.” I hated that name immediately.
On the magical day when I edited the manuscript top to bottom, I opened my pocket notebook and flipped to the “Names,” page. “Silestein” jumped out immediately. In the same way that I love button-downs that are juuust on the edge of “too ugly,” there was something about Silestein that fit.
On the same page, I saw Taurean’s name, and my brain was all, “Taurean Grey! That’s his name!” To which, I thought, “Like Dorian Grey? Pssh. Get real.” About a half second later, my brain was all, “SILESTEIN GREY!” I loved it.
Despite having a last name directly related to her Talent (because that’s how people are named in the world of H&T), I didn’t try to figure out Silestein’s Talent was, certain it would come to me when I needed it.
I sat down to write her scene yesterday and realized she needed to use her Talent. So… Grey. I knew I couldn’t force something to fit that name, so I was set to have my session completely derailed by my need to find her a Talent that felt natural.
It wound up taking all of ten seconds. In part because I quickly got out of the logic loophole of “the Talent has to be based on her name.” No. Not the case–her name was based on her Talent. The Talent came first. A small difference, but it was enough to find an awesome fit.

Which rolled into me staring off into space at work, lost in brainstorming all things Silestein Grey.

If there was some way we could bottle that feeling–the childlike glee of just letting your new character do stuff, becoming real in your mind, we’d all be rich.

Words for the Day: 470

NaNoWriMo Total: 11,815

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 23: Giving Thanks for Editing

The nap worked. Well, in the sense that sleeping for 10 hours is technically a nap, it definitely worked.

After yesterday’s post, I went to work, thinking up another route with the exchange I was worried about.

And then I worked on my feet for an entire day, until my legs were killing me. I walked home like that, hips actually aching, worried my one bad leg would give out.

But it didn’t. I got home, had dinner, relaxed for a bit, laid down to a nap without worrying about how long it would take.

And then I woke up today, refreshed, excited.

I proceeded to read and edit all 40+ pages of my manuscript in one sitting, editing for a consistent tone as I went, adding new names and changing terms to make the MS cohesive. It was a little sad to hit the points where I’d obviously written while half-asleep, made obvious by question marks in really strange places.

But it was a huge relief to get to the exchange I’d written last and immediately realize exactly what was wrong with it.

With life being so tough the last few days, the first version of that back and forth between Modis and Sydney was incredibly tough. Serious and heavy. And sad. Modis got upset enough to cry and Sydney got angry. It just didn’t match up with the first 30 or so pages, in which Modis is generally light-hearted, smart, and determined, and Sydney is tough, curt, and untouchable.

So, without even really trying, I rewrote it, bringing myself right to the end of the MS with a ton of excitement to spare.

What I’m really trying to say with this post is, if you’ve been struggling with a part of your NaNoWriMo project (or any writing project really)–if it’s been difficult to make time and you have to push yourself to write when you’re exhausted–maybe just don’t write when you’re exhausted. Maybe rework your schedule so you’re writing when you aren’t tired. Because, having just experienced the two back to back, writing when you’re completely refreshed is significantly better than doing it when you’re worn out.

And, I mean, of course, right? Duh. But I say this anyway because I think that it’s easy for us to get wrapped up in being productive regardless of how we feel. We’re writers; everything has to be done on hard mode, even if we don’t realize it. It’s incredibly easy for us to be too hard on ourselves, especially if we’re working toward a word goal, like NaNoWriMo’s. At a certain point, writing becomes more about getting x-amount of words and less about the quality of those words. And I’m not blaming NaNoWriMo; I’m just saying that, as eager writers, we’re all in danger of stumbling into the word goal hole.

So, if you don’t already know, just keep in mind that, regardless of word goals, there’s a limit to what conditions you can write under as a responsible writer. Our brains are our tools, so if you have a choice between working with a dull tool or a freshly sharpened one, go with the sharpened one, for your novel’s sake.

Words for the Day: ?

NaNoWriMo Total: 9,251

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 22: Fundamentally

Something’s not right.

This isn’t the post where I start talking about the walls making funny noises–I promise. I’m not completely insane yet.

But something’s fundamentally wrong.

My job hasn’t gone 13+ hours mode yet, but these days, when I get home, after eating and watching something–after taking a moment to relax and not work–I’m finding it impossible to write well.

And, instead of beating myself up about it–about not writing at all last night, for example–I’m going to figure out why.

It’s not the story. It’s not the drive. I like this story and I can absolutely get behind the themes it supports. It’s also a novel I’ve wanted to write for ages, so I’m not reluctant about actually writing it.

No… It’s something else, fundamentally wrong.

Last night, my writing session was only minutes long. I opened my MS, got to the beginning of the exchange between my protagonists, started reading, and, already in a haze at 10PM, I absolutely had no idea if what I’d written was good or bad. After telling myself during the day that I could rewrite the scene–and knowing how to go about it–I was finding that there was just something stopping me from remembering how.

And what that “something” was became pretty obvious as I tried to read the entire exchange, editing as I went… and suddenly snapping awake after what felt like 10 minutes of sleeping at my computer.

I’d rewritten one sentence, didn’t give it end punctuation and then rolled on to write half of the next sentence, which I’d started in the middle, without punctuation–without even the prepositional phrase I’d intended to start it with. During the middle of that broken sentence, I’d just fallen asleep.

I actually said to myself, “I… I actually just can’t do this.

“I can’t write like this.”

But… a week ago, I’d had the same schedule and I’d been fine. So, why couldn’t I write now, with the same schedule?

Because, a week ago, I hadn’t been the face of the seasonal event at my job. A week ago, I had solid chances to either sit down and write.

Or at least sit down.

Now, I have to stand up every day. I have to watch people walk around, full of the holiday spirit (which, in America, means that they’re 5,000,000 times more ready to argue with you, as backwards as that is). Now, my job is way more physical.

So, when I get home, I’m way more tired than I’ve ever been after work.

And, while being determined to write is always a good thing, actually writing while completely exhausted is probably a terrible idea. It’s why I couldn’t figure out how Modis got out of that cell a few days ago. And, without a shadow of a doubt, I know it’s why I’m not sure if the tones for Modis and Sydney’s first exchange are right. Possibly because I don’t remember half of it.

My schedule for the first half of NaNoWriMo 2016 just isn’t going to work for these next few weeks.

So, tonight, I figure out a new schedule. When I get home, I’m taking a nap. At worst, I’ll wake up at 4AM to write for an hour or two before work. Or at 12AM. Whatever–the point is, I’ll wake up with a clear head.

Which I need if I’m going to get any more real work done on this novel.

Words for the Day: 0

NaNoWriMo Total: 8,714

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 20: Late Success

Yesterday, at work:

Louis: He’s sitting during a morning meeting, already tired, having gotten a max of 4 hours of sleep.

His Boss: She talks about the day’s proceedings. At some point, sensing everyone’s lethargy, she perks up. “Well, at least it’s going to be a shorter day, right?”

Louis: He blinks.

His Boss: “We close at six? Seven?”

Someone Else: Chimes in. “Seven.”

Louis: He blinks again.

Louis’ Brain: “Is it possible that the no-sleep has made your mind-brain all backwards and side-to-side, at the same time?” It giggles.

Louis: He almost says, “Quiet you!” Instead, he checks his schedule on his phone, and finds that he’s “only” working 8AM – 7PM. “By Escribyr’s hoary beard…”

~~~

And thus began a day of victories.

Work sucked. It was boring, which it always is.

But a coworker invited me to work with his production company. It’s a thing I’m wary of because helping build start-ups has always gone really, really poorly in the past, but it’s a different field (film), and I have faith in the drive of the guy starting it. I also get to be a consultant instead of a major cog who’s expected to relinquish a ton of his writing time, so I can’t complain. It is, at least, an exciting prospect.

But, far more exciting was getting the solution to yesterday’s problem. In the end, I think it was the no-sleep; there were countless ways for Modis to get out of his cell, but I was way, way too tired to figure out the right way two days ago.

Yesterday at work, however, I was able to figure it out. Of course, the day was so busy that I actually wanted to relax during lunch (instead of working more), so I didn’t get to write before getting home. I did get to imagine the scene thoroughly though, excitedly piecing together all of its fun bits.

When I got home I was so tired that I fell asleep on myself again, so I just wrote the solution, saving this post for today–a few hours later than usual, but still done, at least. And, more importantly, not typed sentence by sentence, falling asleep repeatedly as I go.

For today, I have a day off from job one, which means I get to finish up my scene and roll into the next one. The goal for today is to finish this chapter. I don’t usually set intense goals for the day, but I want to reach the point where the story finally opens up. I want that fresh-out-of-the-pilot feeling.

Either way, thank God for solutions. And the exciting prospect of collaborations. And sorely-needed days off.

Words for the Day: 332

NaNoWriMo Total: 8,106

A Quick Note about My NaNoWriMo Total: Updating it now, I can’t help realizing that, yeah, I really did lose words yesterday. It’s the editing; I haven’t been adding my words together as I’ve gone, I’ve just taken the word total from my doc and pasted it here. Of course, that doesn’t really give a clear idea of how many words I’ve written for the month, but eh. I’m more about the manuscript total; if I wrote a scene but wound up cutting it because it didn’t work, does that scene actually count as progress? Whatever. Anyway, thanks for reading!

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 19: No Escape

I managed to write today, although it was my first taste of getting home at 10PM.

Yes, unfortunately, the Doubles Experiment is going to have to wait; the busy season has already reared its ugly head at work, and my schedule is already suffering.

I only got to write for maybe 15 minutes on the job (and then another 30 or so at home, just now). Unfortunately, the work writing session ended with a problem I was hoping I’d figure out when I got home. Only, getting home turned into walking through a rainstorm for a cumulative 20 minutes, with no umbrella. I don’t want to complain (it’s starting to feel like that’s all I do in these posts), but what I’m saying is, getting home around 11, soaked and knowing I’m back at work at 8AM, so I only have about an hour to write, transcribe the day’s words, and write this post . . . it sucks.

I just didn’t solve the story problem when I got home. I didn’t solve it, and, despite thinking that I’d drop in a placeholder for it, I didn’t.

Because this isn’t a problem that can be placeheld; it isn’t a name, easily switched–it’s Modis’ power. In H&T, everyone has powers, which are called Talents. In today’s scene, Modis is trapped in a cell and he needs to use his Talent, which is pretty weird, to escape–without making noise. It’s a scene I’ve been excited to write for a long time . . . but newly added, logical caveats of his Talent are making it a huge pain in the ass. Maybe it’s the rain, or the writing-this-at-12AM, but the solution just isn’t coming.

Ugh. I hate this. I hate that I’m using this as a forum to complain. Here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to go to sleep, I’m going to wake up, spend the first half of my shift tomorrow considering a solution to this problem.

And then, on lunch, I’m going to write my ass off.

Words for the Day: 267

NaNoWriMo Total: 8,161

30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 18: The Problem with Indulgence

I had a strange moment earlier, when I felt a spot of charming dialogue coming on . . . and I narrowed my eyes.

The clouds had parted and, after a few hours of work, I actually got a moment to sit down with my notebook and work out a scene. I got a few hundred words in, when Sydney met a fellow Annex Hunter, Taurean–the sidiest of side characters.

The exchange, meant to be something quick as Sydney entered the scene, slowed down suddenly . . . because it seemed like Taurean had something to say.

And, “Waaaait a minute,” I thought. “Is this Hunter about to talk to Sydney about his feelings?”

But . . . that couldn’t be right, could it? Taurean is a tough dude, first of all. Second, he’s not an important character.

And, third, I’d already had a bunch of scenes where characters let emotions out. So far, this chapter had been all about the protagonists being vulnerable.

So, why the hell was I going in on Taurean’s feels?

Because I wanted to.

Not that I wanted him to be vulnerable, but because I already wanted him to be a bigger part of the story. The selfish writer in me was all, “Eh? Eh? Why not add a whole exchange between him and Sydney, huh? Maybe he becomes a major part of the adventure? Eh? I mean, it’s what you want.” Before catching myself, I almost acted on that want.

But . . . ages and ages ago, when I forced a barbarian character into my first, worst novel–just because I loved him and I didn’t care that his presence made no sense–I learned that, sometimes, my wants as a writer can completely derail and/or muddle a story.

In that first novel, about undead monsters, there was this giant barbarian dude who served exclusively as comic relief (ugh, it hurts even to explain it). He rarely spoke (because I often forgot he was there), and when he did, it was to deliver lines on par with Zangief’s, “Quick! Change the channel!” from the 90’s Street Fighter movie. When I rewrote that novel (which still wound up being bad), he was the first major cut I made . . . before thinking that I should replace him with a new character–a bizarre ghost-ninja who I also loved. To my credit, I never wound up adding that ghost-ninja either.

Because, with that rewrite, I learned the strange, hollow feeling of writing something really selfish. There’s something cold about it, like the sensation of being watched, only the total opposite–as if I was walking with a friend only to realize, without looking, that they aren’t there anymore.

In no way would Taurean’s feelings help the plot. I’d be detracting from the action that ends this chapter, adding a bit of drag right before it starts, for no purpose other than humoring myself.

So, today, I just stopped writing that scene, tore those pages out of my notebook, and tossed them.

Oddly, it still feels like progress.

Words for the Day: 0

NaNoWriMo Total: 7,887