Daily Report for May 21, 2009

Current Word Count: 36034

Words Written Today: 603 (not counting the discards)

Reward: Early to bed.

First line today: N/A ( )

Last line today: N/A ( )

Credit: shizu_bara


No quotes, because I edited "Contracts" for three hours. I really hope this means that I can get working more on it, too.

The editing is going well. Mostly.

Just very slow. Dinner is ready to go in the oven, but shouldn't be put in for 15 minutes if I don't want to fight with my kids.

I don't. I really don't.

I'm pleased with how the story is shaping up, actually. Hopefully it means I can actually go on with it.

So.

First, I have two chapters left of Chance to rip apart - and nearly 120 scenes SO FAR.

I didn't realize I had so many! And that's after I removed A LOT. There's like an inch or more of stuff removed, and there is likely to be more, eventually. It's down to around 500 pages total, so I took out maybe two hundred (give or take).

And, today spelled the death knell for my palm. I dropped in a much larger container of water, and so I think it's done for.

Well, crap. I am an idiot.

I made the mistake of starting to think seriously about Chance, and I can't do that. I'm still working on the challenge fic due next month!

Oh, but I suddenly want to figure out names, cut the thing apart and gut it, just... start on it.

I can do that next week. While I wait for the outline to settle some.

I actually have a journal for constructive criticism - for help with some of the original stuff I'm doing.

Here's the thing - I need comments that will help me improve the stories posted there. Most of what is posted there will be posted here - with the exception of original work that I hope to get published at some point.

It's called - thanks to skyangel2009 - concritforjill. It is friends only, so please comment on that first post to be added.

Official word count: 109,347.

I'm seriously tempted to make a journal for this thing, and see if a few people will read it, and give me constructive criticism - I still need to change names, etc., but right now, I'm just working on editing it down.

I think I have some down, too, on my next go around.

Times New Roman, font 12, normal spaced, etc.; it's 342 pages.

It's some improvement. I cut out two whole chapters (I think) and at least two are little more than a page (and will be integrated into the chapters around them, either before or after, depending).

I might have to cut more of Anika and JC (which bothers me), and I should probably summarize some other conversations.

Hm. I kind of like the concrit journal. Friends Only, of course. I'll have to think on it.

I totally forgot to post yesterday.

Not that it matters, but I was doing so well for a while....

Anyway.

Triangle - but for the occasional random scene which I will probably keep adding until I have them all - is officially retired. I'll probably write the background stories I started on, and maybe that will spark more scenes to add to the box, but I give up on Nano. It's not happening this year.

I'm not sure why - combination of things, probably. Three kids, an attempt to change myself a little, a new calling (not easy), and various other things seemed to have all attacked me at once. And I just can't... deal with nano as well, when writing it is like pulling teeth. I don't know the characters enough; changing the names changed the characters, and I feel like I have no grasp on them at all (I think). Well, I do feel like I have no grasp on them, and I think that's why it's so hard to write them.

And rewriting something that I just wrote, which was perfectly good, and getting crap - that isn't helping. I need to bury it and start all over in five years or something.

Of course, by then, I'll be in a totally new fandom. That's the way it goes.

---

I worked some on Chance this morning; I have been working on cutting more (changed pen colors, too). The thing I noticed this time around? PoV. It's horrible, the way I switch around! Because of that, some of it will fall out merely because I have to stick with one pov so I don't confuse the readers.

Well, we'll see. Today I'd like to get that into the computer, the rest of it, plus do a few other things. I want to know how much I actually managed to cut with the initial slicing. I have the feeling it's not as much as I'd hoped.

I finally got them all done.

A bit of a refresher: I took the ideas for how to make these goals S.M.A.R.T, and powerful from the Top Achievement website. It helped.

I also got the idea of how to do these from Scott:

1. is Daily: used to create or eliminate a habit
2. is weekly: what isn't daily
3. is monthly: a once-a-month occurance, or something I'd like to get done within a month
4. is yearly: a long term goal, usually with begin and finish dates
5. is an event, something like: vote in the November 2008 elections or something.

So. On to the goals.
( In six different areas )

Well, there they are. Some - most, I hope - of these are on my 101 in 1001 list, but the rest are things I need to get done, too.

Wish me luck!

I think I'm going to have to print up Chance at least one more time, possibly more. I'm being ruthless this time around - so this is the second time around, still working on the big cuts, as well as a few little slashes. The one thing he mentions is to cut the big stuff, so you don't go through the little stuff only to find out that it's all cut anyway.

I have notes about summarizing on various parts - where I need to have things happening, but I don't need to have it... in detail.

I'm actually considering completely getting rid of Clara. I'm not sure if I really want to - I suppose I could combine her and Erin - but if I do, that will get rid of quite a bit. And I really don't want to get rid of Candy. That subplot is just too good to get rid of - and too real to avoid.

I have a few other things I need to work on - surely they don't all live together, but maybe the occasional "sleep over" or something? - and I'm not sure how that'll work out. Some of the scenes might have to become something else, or be put somewhere else. I'm just not sure where.

So, there are my rambles.

OH! My dh is the best person around. He actually found me a wall to put my outline on! Now, I just need to write it.

Finally. Here.

I have an hour before I have to start dinner.

I'm taking Chance and sequestering myself in the bed room.

Bye!

The question then comes - as I have SO many words to chop - if I should cut out the whole "Candy" subplot. I don't really want to, but I could.

I don't know what else to cut out! I know the end goes so fast... maybe I need to catch the rest of it up to it? I don't know. I really don't know.

So I emailed this woman back, and I only had two questions.

How long is short enough, and can I keep the chapter titles?

Gah. I almost wish I hadn't.

At most - 70k words. 50-60 would be better. Which means I have to get... well, violent is almost the right word! Parsimonious is better. chop out everything that doesn't fit.

Chapter titles: if I want to find out who copywrited each song and write them for permission. Uh... no.

Drat!

She suggested creating lyrics, by this fictional band, and using them - to make it more real. Sadly, I'm no good at that. But maybe I'll try it anyway.

At least I can keep the title.

I feel rather... unsteady.

Which is odd.

I've finished my once-through on Chance, and now I'm going through it again, working on taking out smaller pieces of it. I've chopped whole chapters, and pieces of chapters, and now....

Now it's down to sections, paragraphs, words.

How do I know how much to cut? I don't. I wrote her back and asked for a target word count - that will help - and I need to determine what actually adds to the story and what is just deadweight.

How do I know what furthers the story?

---

So, I decided to start outlining what I'm going to do for nano - and I think I want a wall to tape it all up on. ^_^ I don't have any blank walls that big! But I'm going to give this a shot. I don't know if I should use the outline I already have, or if I should start over....

But I have the feeling the problem was the focus - I had FAR too many people to focus on, and with this name change, I can focus on who is important. This might be a bit more bloody than I originally thought, but that's okay, too.

So. On to the outlines.

And no nap, no peace today - Elyssa woke Taran up. Grrr.

I had a lot of thoughts this morning, so they're all going here.

( Don't hesitate to skip if you want )

It took... 1 1/2 reams of paper (with random jams, etc.), from 13:00 to about 18:30 - with two breaks, one for an hour, another for thirty minutes.

Three inches high, this stack (I can't judge distances to save my life) of paper. It fits nicely into two large d-ring binders, with uneven tabs (but one for each chapter, except where there will be a whole chapter slashed out), and I am ready to start with my green pen - this is what I want to keep.

I need to email her back, and ask about the chapter titles. I really, really want to keep those.

So. Chance.

And in between, outlining for Nano.

I went on a shopping spree today.

I got a lot of things that I want for this editing thing, some things to help make this organizational thing go better (I really hope I can keep up with it; it's so nice! I feel like I got a lot done this morning, although probably not as much as I can make myself believe), and some stuff for Nano.

And the upgrade for the anti-virus (which was nearly half of the bill. Gah).

I need to stop these. This is the fourth one in like four weeks. Not good.

And - wahoo! - I got the right trays to stack with the ones I already own! WIN!

And now - to change ink cartriges, and to print up Chance.

Oh, my heavens.

141,723 words.

221 pages (single spaced). 509 at 2.5 (to give me lots of room). 718 if I make it 12 pt font.

questions:

Can I keep the chapter titles?


I had others, I know I did....

Holy Crap. Well. I need a lot of 8.5x11 loose-leaf notebook paper, and a new ink cartridge.

At least I have the ink.

And I reiterate.

HOLY CRAP.

I want to start this now. RIGHT now. I don't have the paper. *sob*