Bits and piecesFebruary 1st, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 679 Total words: 22,469 Pages: 84 Reason for stopping: Homework, practice, Tribal Revolution registration Darling du Jour: – Mean Things: Police officer asks if she’s had sex with a client Jury-rigging: More bracketing so I didn’t waste precious writing time with looking up ACA codes of ethics. I can do that during revision. Inspiration: Elizabeth Bear’sRevision DeathMarch . I love the way she writes about writing.
SQUIK!January 25th, 2012 / Author: NikkiLower wordcount today… I hit the end of the scene and, instead of pressing on, started flipping through Facebook. This one fried my brain. When you get there, you’ll understand why. ::squik::
Words written: 630 Total words: 21,808 Pages: 82 Reason for stopping: Brainfried from squik Darling du Jour: Do you really want to know? OK. I looked again at the wounds on her leg and torso – their width, their depth, and the worst ragged one in her left lower abdomen. Why would he choke and stab her? There was more bruising on the right side of her neck than the left. “He didn’t stab her to death,” I murmured. “He’s right handed.” “What are you saying?” “You don’t want to know.” “Tell me,” he said, his voice tight. “Sometimes stabbing is a substitute for penetration,” I said. “Some guys stab women because they’re impotent.” I paused. “He isn’t.” Fail du Jour: Brainfail after major squik Mean Things: She’s really good at compartmentalization Jury-rigging: Note to self about sleight-of-hand And this is where things get goryJanuary 23rd, 2012 / Author: NikkiFacing some pretty bad anxiety today. I didn’t want to write. I decided, though, that the events precipitating the anxiety can’t get the better of me — I can’t let them take this writing away from me. And now I’m so glad I did write, because things are getting fun. He’s escalating… Words written: 1027! Total words: 21,178 Pages: 79 Darling du Jour: I gave her a hug and her thin body started shaking against mine, heaving with sobs. I don’t know why I opened my eyes. I don’t know why I looked over her shoulders. I saw Jeremy at the back of the theater. He opened the door to the sound booth and closed it abruptly. He leaned back against it, one hand over his mouth, one over his stomach. I couldn’t see his face from stage – not with the lights on me and him a fuzzy figure in the back of the theater – but I knew it was a mask of shock. I knew where Michelle was. Fail du Jour: As soon as I sat down to write, Romer barfed. I got up and cleaned it up. Half an hour into the writing session, Grimmy started crying about the loneliness and injustice he faces. I got up and petted him. #catwaxfail Mean Things: He’s escalating. He’s discovered wounds. He likes them. Jury-rigging: I have to refer to the wireless sound system earlier in the book, or this scene won’t work. Also, ZOMG HE WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!!!
Stumbling toward her breaking pointJanuary 22nd, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 810 Total words: 20,151 — Hooray! Broke from the 10′s into 20′s! Pages: 75 Darling du Jour: He grinned at me and then transitioned into a new song – something that started gently in the upper registers and then brought in a sweeping deep element, stirring and orchestral. The lower registers softened, moved to the middle range, and Jeremy began singing – something in a language I didn’t know, something intense and yearning. I opened my eyes and saw that his were closed as he sang. Wisps of his dark brown hair had escaped the ponytail, brushing his jaw. Fail du Jour: Forgot all the troupe member’s names. Didn’t stop to look them up. Revisions will be hell. Tyop du Jour: I Mean Things: The troupe leader has stormed off in a huff, and it was Anna’s dad on the phone. Jury-rigging: Lots of ____s in the dialogue today….
The Killer after Internet Blackout DayJanuary 20th, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 892 Wednesday, but not posted for Internet Blackout Day. 961 today. Total words: 19,336 Pages: 72 Darling du Jour: Heady dark chocolate, espresso, and a hint of cinnamon exploded in my mouth Fail du Jour: I’m beginning to worry about a pattern. Scene/find a body/talk to the police / scene /find a body / talk to the police/ ad nauseum. ::sigh:: Tyop du Jour: I swalled hard. Mean Things: Her teacher walks away from her and the phone won’t stop ringing. Jury-rigging: I moved the next murder back a little bit. The killer’s going to want more time with the body than I originally allowed him.
Scrivener and plotJanuary 14th, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 340… which sounds pathetic unless you consider the 30 minutes I spent rewriting and rearranging all the scene cards in Scrivener. The upcoming plot is a little more balanced. Total words: 17,483 Pages: 65 Darling du Jour: ”Is there any way that the necro guy might know where you live?” Mean Things: This poor girl is really unlucky in love Jury-rigging: Note inserted: No WAY Kevin would fail to call after the date. Blood and other placesJanuary 13th, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 928 Total words: 17,143 Pages: 64 Realization du Jour: I have a thing for doors. In Gravedigger’s Daughter, a very important message appeared on a door. In “Inner Potential,” Horace left gifts hanging from Marci’s doorknob. In The Tease, Anna discovers gifts on her doorknob and doorstep… and I just had an idea for an important message to be left on her door. Doorways mean… what? The gate to another realm. Possibilities unknown. The threshold of the nest… the last vestiges of the public before entering the very private. A public violation of privacy — a hint that someone knows where you live when you didn’t invite them. Fail du Jour: Monica’s apartment apparently has no decoration. Tyop du Jour: beginnign Mean Things: The police think her life is in danger. Jury-rigging: Moved the chunk of description about Monica to the beginning of Chapter 2, which will ultimately be the chapter in which we first meet her. I’m struggling a little with Monica… she doesn’t move the plot forward in this book, but (a) Anna SHOULD have a best friend (just like a dad) because she has a few healthy relationships, (b) Monica knows Anna’s past, and (c) Monica will be very important in Book 2.
Duhn-duhn-DUHN!!!, Part 2January 11th, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 853 Total words: 16, 215. Can you believe it? Pages: 62 Darling du Jour: I got up and stood in front of the grocery bag – not like my ankles could actually hide it, but I do have some pride. Tyop du Jour: I Mean Things: ZOMG HE KNOWS WHERE SHE LIVES. And her cat wants her to come home. Jury-rigging: He put on latex gloves and used tweezers to lift the necklace from the doorknob and put it in a baggie. Then he [check procedure] put a fine black powder on the door and started transferring prints which he likewise stored in [check]. After a few minutes, he said, “Okay, you can open the door now.”
I did PDF the manuscript to read and mark up on my iPad, but didn’t do so. Today, the urge to write was strong. Sometimes getting through the first draft involves pretending you got it right in the previous chapters. I figured out where Monica goes (backstage at the show, and then in this next scene where she stays at her house). I’m going to talk about her dad a little, and he’ll show up in Book 2, but he’s not a major presence in this one. I’m still gonna need a little subplot surgery, but the story is unfolding.
It’s not broken…January 10th, 2012 / Author: NikkiToday was a Holly day. I’m halfway through my outline, but only 17% through the target wordcount. Now, I’d be perfectly happy with an 80K word novel, so if I revise to that amount, I’m still only 19% through the wordcount. In this day and age of Kindles and MTV-attention-spans, it’s not the worst thing in the world if this is a series of short novels that people can gobble up quickly. However, there’s short and there’s not-a-novel. I mentally revisited some of the promises I made to the reader early in the book — a few dark hints about the past, Anna’s dad, Anna’s real name, the Love Interest, and the Best Friend. These are all elements that will flesh the story out, but I’m definitely underdelivering on them at this point. I also realized that the poor Love Interest is only showing up in two scenes! How’s a guy going to win her heart if he never gets to see her? I’m working on a few tweaks to bring the story back in balance. Therefore: no metrics today, and probably none tomorrow either. It’ll be worth it, I promise. I’ve also revised my Honeydew list for the coming year — partially due to when I’ll be finishing up the How to Revise Your Novel Course (which I’m currently practicing on a short story so it’s less daunting on a full-length MS), partially due to 3 more exciting weekend events (a certification, Deb Rubin, and Tribal Revolution). So it looks a little something like this: JANUARY Drafting The Tease A few “brain dead” weeks due to Ariellah, Tribal Massive, and the certification Mythos Story revisions Mythos Story to Trusted Readers Finish Draft 1 of The Tease Finish Chaotic Water revisions Final revisions on Gravedigger’s Daughter AUGUST Begin final revisions on Chaotic Water and The Tease More Awful Truth!January 9th, 2012 / Author: NikkiWords written: 911 — how appropriate! Total words: 15, 427 Pages: 58 Darling du Jour: ”So you’re a profiler now?” I took a deep breath to suppress the shout building in my chest. “No. But I do know a thing or two about the human mind. What I saw at that crime scene – that killer was graceful, and clean. No struggle. Not one wasted move. He killed her elegantly. Glen was an ox. He’d smash end tables, give her a black eye, grab her arms until they bruised and shake her. It doesn’t make sense.” Fail du Jour: Halfway through the plot at 15K words! No way will this be novel-length when the first draft is finished. The revision is going to involve adding judicious description (not crazy-flowery, but enough to give the reader a good picture of where he is) and fleshing out some subplots. This isn’t a novelette. I don’t think. Tyop du Jour: Mean Things: Being interrogated at the police station. Jury-rigging: A few scribbles about Ethics and Max — will have to flesh out later. Drafting is hard. We’re getting into the good stuff, people. But now I have to figure out how to get more of the good stuff into the first few chapters. This is where it gets gripping… but I want it gripping from Page One!
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