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August 30, 2004

bum

Being a lazy bum, I did nothing of substance today around my house, but I did write five pages.

I keep saying it's only ten chapters to the end, but Ishna keeps going blah blah blah and now I have no idea where the end is. Though in the sequence of events, I know that "tonight" (in the story world) something interesting is going to happen that throws other things into gear, and that's good. I have Chapter 30 sketched out, and most of Chapter 31 outlined. So I guess 32 - 38 are where massive badness occur. Maybe? Hell, I don't know.

Dear heavens. This stupid book is going to eat my soul!

Posted by sdshaver at 02:02 AM

August 29, 2004

walt whitman

Four pages tonight, and Chapter 29 now clocks in as the longest chapter of the book with 4221 words. This is not necessarily good, but since there's much going on and I didn't want to break it apart, it'll likely stay that way. It ends how it's supposed to end.

I'm a bit sensitive about chapter lengths. My first book had incredibly long chapters, and I was cautioned to not do that by various editors. Of course, ten years later I re-read my first book and caution myself to not do a lot of things, so chapter length could have just been an arbitrary criticism. It was a pretty horrendous piece, and chapter length was only the tip of that sewer-scented iceberg.

So anyway, the answer to last night's question is: leave it to the reader's imagination. As much as I want to be sex ed for some poor teenager out there, I don't think this is the book to do it in. What I wrote was still fairly provocative, as far as I'm concerned. As provocative as I feel is within my capability as a writer at this time. If an editor says: "More throbbing!" I'll put in more throbbing, but for now I like what I've accomplished (note: there is currently no throbbing).

And now, Walt Whitman's biography (not really).

Posted by sdshaver at 02:07 AM

August 27, 2004

of sex scenes and authors

Before the year's up, I'd like to read another Dark Tower novel, and acquire books by two authors I feel like I should have started reading a long time ago -- that is, George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, and something (other than The Gypsy) by Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm.

Melissa and I discussed literary sex scenes today on the couch at work. I have yet to actually write one in a serious work. Yes, with the exception of a few attempts when I was younger, I'm a sex scene virgin.

I find most sex scenes rather silly. "Hot, throbbing manhood" just makes me giggle. It doesn't turn me on (is it meant to?); it's probably why I never got into romances or cybersex. In my long life as an online gamer, the one time I got enmeshed in a sexy exchange I was bored and annoyed with the grammar, punctuation, and spelling of my partners. If that enlightens anyone on anything about me.

I'm approaching the one, solitary, two-to-three page scene in my book. And the question is -- will I go into hot, throbbing detail, or will I be subtle and light-handed with it? I'll know in a day or so.

Speaking of which, I did write last night -- a long, convoluted argument between two characters that I went back and rewrote today. The edits for this thing are going to be horrendous. I fear I may need a spreadsheet.

A rock-solid, pulsing spreadsheet.

Posted by sdshaver at 10:19 PM

August 26, 2004

double-z

I got a whole page done. I suck!

At some point, my heroine has got to realize what the f--- is going on. I just know it!

sleep. night.

Posted by sdshaver at 02:35 AM

August 25, 2004

zzzz

Chapter 28 done. Chapter 29 started. So...close...to nookie....

Bed now.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:33 AM

August 24, 2004

your arm's too short to box with god

I really only meant to write one page, but somehow I wrote three. And it was a very draining three pages that sum up a lot of what I was probably thinking at Myr's age about life and the universe.

Or not. It's hard to remember who I was when I was 17.

I dream of living in a log cabin in the Ozarks or someplace else suitably green and foresty. Nice to dream.

Work is busy. Hopefully I'll write this week, regardless of its deadly lure.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:51 AM

August 22, 2004

descriptive

In two hours of writing, I only managed one page. Curses.

Part of it is simply that I had to describe a whole lot of city and think about architecture and layout and...BLECH. In this, visiting Spain was priceless. I now have some idea of what medieval cities should look like and just how goddamn claustrophobic they are. It also helps that there were TWO bigass cathedrals in the city I went to. And it was on a river, so there were bridges. Kind of like a small scale version of the city I'm building in my head now.

Part of it is also that I'm once again trying to figure out how to present the next bit of information, so I spent a couple hours on the couch, drawing it out. I now have very crude, very badly drawn examples of the temple of Aiur. No, I'm not going to post it. (I suck even more at still life than I do at drawing portraits.)

I'll probably go back upstairs now and draw out a map of the city, plus the bits of architectural oddity it has chosen to tell me about.

Either that, or rub a clay mask on my face.

BLARRRR.

Posted by sdshaver at 11:12 PM

crazy lady

Chapter 27 finished, Chapter 28 started. Something got pointed out to me by one of my characters, so I went back and rewrote all of Erim's scenes starting from 22. There were only about four, and now his purpose is better defined and he's happy with me.

On that note -- it's bedtime. Bye!

Posted by sdshaver at 01:25 AM

August 21, 2004

miyazaru, kikazaru, iwazaru

Ah, young love. It's so cute.

The cats are trying to murder my optical mouse. Bastards.

Two pages done. Some editing done to 16. Three pages away from complete chapter 27. Gotta switch to Erim for the next part.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:36 AM

August 20, 2004

little secrets

Revised Chapter Twenty-Seven slightly. The second section I wrote last night felt off and so was removed but not deleted; I always save the good-but-off scenes in a file for later reference. Replaced it with something I hope to be stronger.

Halfway through. And like an annoying little earworm begging for attention, I find myself wanting to listen to the next Gunslinger novel....

(Maybe I'll read it on my next flight to San Diego.)

Posted by sdshaver at 01:37 AM

August 19, 2004

disciplined

It's like anything else. You promise to yourself that you will write/exercise/attend class/go to work at a certain hour, and then you just do it.

So I got home at midnight due to work commitments, and I came downstairs and wrote three pages. Which means chapter Twenty-Seven is started, and not in a way I expected. But it's still all good.

But now, the good thing is to go to bed.

My legs, they ache.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:35 AM

August 18, 2004

off the cuff

End of Chapter Twenty-Six, and all I have to say is -- whoo hoo! Go Qeta!

Chapter Twenty-Seven file created, and I discovered notes tucked away in Chapter Twenty. Whoops. But I'm done for the night. My head is spinning. There's still a lot to tell.

WordPerfect did something stupid to all the files I opened in it, so now I have to go through and fix all the little weird things it did. BAD WORDPERFECT. BAD.

Lines I like, but may never make it through the second cut:

Heh.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:18 AM

August 17, 2004

candles in the murder wind

Chapter Twenty-Six is almost over. Erim's informed me that he'll be appearing again come Chapter Twenty-Seven. And there will be cursed knife-wielding dancin' gods aplenty. Oh, goody.

I am covered in bugbites, with two on my knees and one on my right wrist. They make aikido very painful, I have discovered. Message to bugs: OW FUCK KNOCK IT OFF.

My dinner was weird tonight. Eggplant, zucchini, garlic, and edamame. Yes, edamame. In tortillas. With cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Crazy, man. Don't look at me like that. It was good.

I think I'll go eat some tomatoes now. Night.

Posted by sdshaver at 12:42 AM

August 16, 2004

of nightmares and sulfur

Halfway through 26.

I did three pages tonight, but now I have to, have to go to bed. I would have done more, but it was a home maintenance day, and yesterday was a birthday party day, so alas, I only got done as much as I could.

And still, so much to be done around my house. I made myself go see Spider-Man 2, a little-known foreign film starring some guy named Tobey Maguire and directed by a newcomer named Sam Raimi. Tobey is rather cute. Plus, he likes to cook. Yay for Tobey.

Ishna is so fun to write. If it wouldn't fuck up the story structure beyond recognition I'd be tempted to write her in from the start. As it is, I think she's good where she is.

Okay, that sleep I mentioned? Time to get it. Na-night.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:53 AM

August 15, 2004

i swagger through the cannon smoke

Chapter 26 started, first scene written. Your words for the week are "souk" (also spelled "suq") and "karkade".

I gotta describe major city #3 better than what I did with major city #2. Also, stuff.

We watched Penn & Teller's Bullshit! tonight -- the language (aka "Humbug!") episode. There was one incredulous moment where one of the interviewees said it wasn't okay to use the epithet "Jesus Christ!", but swearing at Buddha was perfectly acceptable.

That's just astounding.

The problem isn't the coarse language. The problem is the mindset that belittles, depersonalizes, and demoralizes others. If I call people fuckers, the issues should not be with my using "the f-word"; it should be that I'm marginalizing someone. I see that as far more worrisome than ye olde word of curse itself.

Or, that's how my aikido brain sees it at least. I'm sure Marion would greatly disagree with me. But then, that was a woman who could pack more meaning into a single damn than I ever could into a lifetime of fuckers.

Oh man...I'm gonna sleep a long time tomorrow.

Posted by sdshaver at 03:35 AM

August 14, 2004

down by the river

Chapter 25 is done. 26 is started.

When I was in Spain, there was a whole mess of food that consisted of small fishes fried, grilled, pickled, or braised and then eaten, eyes, bones, tails, and all.

I had a grandfather who loved to eat sardines whole, and I would eat them with him. I remember the sharpness of the mustard, the peculiar texture and flavor of the bones, at once crunchy and chalky.

Every now and then I get a craving for the sardines. I don't think I've had them in twenty years, but sometimes I eat things just because he ate them, and it makes me feel like he's near again.

He died when I was 16. Second semester high school. It's been 12 years. It's hard to believe. He was such a big part of my life. The first storyteller. I know about World War II and the Youngstown Mafia because of him. I miss him so much. If I ever sell this book, it will be dedicated to him.

Most of this has to do with the meal my characters had tonight. My own meal was a delicious wild mushroom pizza from CPK with my friends Alisha and Dave. Alisha had never had CPK, which Dave and I had to remedy. I am all for trendy pizza. Especially when it's served with chocolate soufflé cake.

Okay. Bedtime. Keep safe, Florida friends.

Posted by sdshaver at 02:35 AM

August 13, 2004

of zombies and peanut butter

Three and a half pages done. Some neat ideas grew out of some stuff done today. Will accomplish in second draft.

Guilty pleasure admission: I like watching Detective Conan/Case Closed. I know. This from the girl who owned the Encyclopedia Brown cookbook (and made a five-course Chinese meal for her family using recipes from it).

Totally need sleep now, though.

Characters head south in ten pages. yay. And then -- the sex! Whoo!

Bad Zoot! Naughty Zo...zzzzzzz......

Posted by sdshaver at 01:59 AM

August 11, 2004

our dried voices

The Roland in the Gunslinger is not the Roland of classic literature that I thought he was. I was thinking Song of Roland Roland, but it turns out he's Childe Roland. Color me easily confused.

But Steph! you cry, raising your fist to the sky. The poem is quoted at the start of all the books! Well, guess what -- it's not quoted in the books-on-MP3 version I listened to. YES, YE SCURVY BASTARDS. I cheated and listened to it. Pffft. I'm a busy elf. If I could get my literature intravenously, I would.

Speaking of melancholy poetry -- I realized that a reoccuring line in my book is actually a reoccuring line from one of my favorite poems/sonnets/whatevers -- "The Hollow Men". I am partial to moody T.S. Eliot. He was more fun when he was still struggling with his faith.

And so starts Chapter 25, three and a half pages in. Today's new word: souk (or suq -- I'm using the former spelling).

Posted by sdshaver at 01:48 AM

August 05, 2004

when characters attack

The original version of SoS never had a character like Ishna in it. There was no Erim, either. But it seems that the moment I gave these two an appearance, they decided to take over, and now I'm stuck with 'em.

I sat down to sketch last night, and got...Ishna's significant other. WTF? Well, it explains why she speaks Oroish.

Erim's personality has also evolved somewhat. The other main characters I pretty much knew. It's taken some work to get something out of him, but now that I have, I know how to write him in the next draft.

And in the meantime, I've started a loose sketch-outline for the next book I want to write, which I'm currently calling The Spellbinder. Using the character and setting (but not the story) from my last submission to an anthology. I'm being very firm with myself that this will be a one-shot, standalone story.

So what can I say? I'm a crazy lady who talks to her characters. At least I know I'm not alone.

Posted by sdshaver at 03:55 PM

August 04, 2004

spirits rise and falling

Chapter 24 done. Three cheers for Ishna. So very capable, so very derivative of an acquaintance of mine.

I'm going to Chicago for the weekend, so the likelihood of me doing any work on the book is low. Hopefully I'll be back to work on Sunday/Monday night.

At two chapters a week, it's conceivable that I could have the book finished (rough draft) by October.

And yes, a little bit I've been feeling the dread of having to sand down the rough edges and submit the work. I feel the fear of rejection. I know what happens when I start shopping it around....

I start writing a new book.

(And this time, I promise to outline the fucker.)

Posted by sdshaver at 02:06 AM

August 03, 2004

a thousand times around the world

Done for tonight. Chapter 24 is one scene away from finished.

Hurray. I'm very close to the end, and it's kind of weird. The characters will probably be on a boat heading south by the beginning of 26. And there'll be some stuff, and some things, and then it'll be done.

Wow. And then I get to rewrite whole sections of it! Yeee!

Time for bed.

Posted by sdshaver at 01:15 AM

August 02, 2004

noir online

My coworker (and, I'd like to believe, friend) Josh is currently blogging a short story. Don't tell him I think it's good. It might ruin my image.

Also, Greg Knauss is blogging a novel called the Edge Case. If you like Warren Ellis (guilty as charged), you should check it out.

Must write a couple pages, then sleep.

Posted by sdshaver at 11:44 PM

hero psycho dreamer

Half of Chapter 24 is now done. I'd do more, but I need to work on the attendance cards for the dojo.

And I finally got to reveal some more stuff in this chapter. I guess the book decided it was time. There's setup for a neat spot later on (I'm guessing around Chapter 27 or 28) when things start to spiral out of control for the team.

I still have a lot to write for this chapter (Ishna scene, Erim scene), and I'm looking forward to doing it either tomorrow or Tuesday night.

Yeeha.

Posted by sdshaver at 12:02 AM

August 01, 2004

fun, fun, fun

I haven't been to a small, personal convention in a very long time, and so I enjoyed this one immensely. Listening to Misty and Larry read was very enjoyable. If I had my druthers, that's how I'd receive all their works.

And midway through I went home and relaxed a bit on my couch and thought to myself, "Self, I think you would enjoy writing books for a living." And myself said, "Yep. But in the meantime this gaming gig is kinda fun."

As always, there were things Misty and Larry said that crystallized stuff I've thought about but been unable to distill into words. But I accredit that to like-mindedness and the fact that they have been doing nothing but live by writing for the past fifteen or so years. They've had a long time to think about this stuff, and I'm deeply grateful for their sharing that.

And there was a moment of humble surprise when one of the con-goers recognized my name. That was very cool. Thank you, Caitlin.

And thanks, Show-Me Con. I had a blast.

Chapter 24 started. I think on the second pass of the book I now know what to do to Sensen to make him the character he needs to be. I spent time the last three days sketching him and asking him what it is he wants. It seems that he wants to absorb a part of my personality that I'm all too aware of -- the part that knows she can do something, but is afraid to. So, he can do that. I don't mind.

I think I'll go see The Village now.

Posted by sdshaver at 12:01 PM