Pathetic and Boring

February 18, again

Yes. I'm pathetic.

3 lousy K today. That's all I wrote. I got up early, I planned to write all day-- and I wrote 3K. Grr.

I rose knowing I wanted to begin "Romanticore," and knowing further that I had almost no idea about the plot or even much about the characters. So I walked down to the post office and thought about it. I thought about it a lot. It started raining and I didn't notice until my glasses were too rain-dappled for me to see-- that's how deeply I was thinking. I had Good Ideas. I had no good mail, however.

I went home. I did some research online into the mechanics of computer dating services, the nature of Manticores, and the mythic/totemic qualities of lions. Then I read some Theodore Sturgeon and thought about characterization through physical description. I got a bagel and went to Pergolesi (my life is a life of unrivaled convenience-- both bagels and coffee are within half a block of my house) and wrote in my journal, sketching out scenes for the story, writing bits of dialogue, quasi-outlining. I thought about jealousy and polyamory and sex and spiders. I read a bit of Greg Bear's Slant (which I'm liking so far, and which actually touched on a couple of the themes that are important in "Romanticore").

I went home again. I wrote e-mail to Marissa, telling her how much my story's going to rock and how I was going to crank and churn and finish a draft of the story today. Then Meg got online, so I chatted with her for a while, and told her the same thing. I sat at my computer and wrote about 300 words of the story. Then I got restless. I decided I'd go to Pergolesi and write in a haze of ink and caffeine. M'ris sent me chapters of her 2nd novel to read, so I printed those out, planning to institute an awards-based writing program whereby I would get to read one chapter for every thousand words I completed. I went to Pergolesi, got a mocha, found a table. Decided to read a chapter of M'ris-novel. Then read the second chapter. Then forced myself to write.

I wrote a godawful huge infodump and then, incrementally, advanced the plot. This is where the bulk of the 3000 words came.

I got restless again. By then it was nearly 5 in the afternoon. I came back home, sat at the computer, checked my e-mail. Decided to do an ego search. Found Eric's web site (discussed in my previous entry). Wrote a Tropism entry about that. Meg was online again, so I chatted with her some more. I decided to answer some e-mail and catch up on reading journals.

By then it was 6:30. I had a headache. The Sunday shows (Futurama, King of the Hill, Simpsons) were on in half an hour-- I couldn't do anything constructive on my story in half an hour! So I spun my jo staff and looked out the window. Then I watched television until 8:30. I pecked out a few more words on the story. Distracted myself with the wonders of the internet. Decided I couldn't focus so close to my internet connection, and thought I'd go to Saturn, get some lateish dinner, and write there.

Scott came home. I had to tell him about Eric's web site (we all grew up together, more or less). We read bits of his web site. Scott was agreeable to going to Saturn. We called Lynne. She came over. We went to Saturn. I ate lots of yummy food and did not write a bit.

Came home just before midnight. Sat on the couch with Scott, just to talk and watch television, for 10 minutes, I thought. Then I'd plunge into writing.

At midnight, Behind the Music on Def Leppard came on. How could I not watch that with Scott? I watched that with Scott.

Now it's now. I'm tired and my headache has returned.

I'll go to bed. I have no work tomorrow, as it's President's Day. I'll write lots and lots tomorrow.

Of course I will.

Total Word Count: 31,490

Today's Word Count: 3,000 (rough approximation due to writing mostly in longhand)

The Daring Darlings:

Jim C. Hines

Hilary Moon Murphy

Nicole Montgomery

Melanie Miller Fletcher

Karina Summer Smith

Anne Hutchins