There are two times when...

Writing for the week has gone well, I think. Word count will exceed 50k by the time I'm done writing tonight, I considered a small celebration, maybe an extra ration of grog for the scurvy dogs who've managed to scrape the hull of barnacles despite everything. On the other hand, maybe the captain is the one who deserves the reward, maybe a gallon of frozen strawberries. What I mean to say is that it seems to me that there's a whole crew driving this sailing ship of a novel. Captain Imagination, who comes out on deck and marvels at the weather, and waves vaguely at the horizon and says, "thataway". First Officer and chief navigators Scenery and Plotter (who figure out where the ship is going) . The B'suns mate, Discipline (who tries to keep the gang moving). And the crew, collectively named Tenacity and Fortitude. So who gets the credit for making it 1/3rd of the way (estimated, your mileage may vary)? I'll let you know, though I suspect it's the crew and the B'suns mate.

On a different subject, as long as the captains walking the poop deck, I figure it's time to smile a bit. I was watching the Red Green show the other day (a funny, home spun canadian import that has apparently run on canadian tv for about 15 years). Red, a gruff, grizzled canadian who runs the Possum Lodge (motto: When all else fails, play dead) somewhere in the great white north, was offering his take on life. He pointed out that "there are two times when you shouldn't be smiling, when you smell something bad, and when your wife isn't. (Think about it. And realize how often the two times coincide). That got my funny bone twitching. I'm sure there are other "two time" wisdoms out there, like "there are two times you shouldn't say volunteer", and "there are two times you shouldn't offer to carry a baby." So, here's the contest. Pick one of these two time lines, or make up your own, and write the punch line, stick it in comments. I promise, the winner (It's my blog, I choose) will get a prize. Something that will make you smile. Good luck. Or as Red says, "Keep your stick on the ice"...

Progress (IV)

Writing progress, part four. (Did you think I was punning on progressive? me? a political statement? Maybe, all I've got to say right now is, Moderate is not a bad word, despite the efforts of both parties, and our good old main stream media, to define it as something else. Anyway, someday I"ll offend half of you out there and discuss the whole moderate/extremist thingy. If MSM has its way, by allowing myself to have an opinion that half of you don't share, I'm setting myself up to be hated.....

Anyway, writing progress. Met all goals this week, even with dumping nearly 2k of word count by letting the inner critic out of it's cage and allowing the tasmanian devil like creature to rewrite one scene. Inner Critic (IC, notice he's capitalized now, does that make him a real person?) didn't like how I had sneaky, dastardly villain number one deal with a plot point, so he dumped the whole scene, and made me rewrite it. The fiend!

In the original scene, he (DV#1) acted directly. When I was working on a later scene, it occurred to me how out of character it was, and I made a note to myself to consider redoing it. In the next scene I was working on, I came up with a solution, but I realized that changing that earlier scene would affect the following sections that DV#1 was in. I started writing with the change in mind, but found myself making note after note of things I'd have to include when I got around to rewriting the earlier scenes, so. Open Cage, let IC out. When the dust settled, old scene gone, replaced with new, hopefully better scene.

So, hopefully IC will quiet down for a while. I have started seeing things that I want to change when I do start revising, adding color and correcting discrepancies, but for now I'm just taking notes and sticking to my plan.

Anyway, milestone 40k words reached. Think I'll celebrate by... Hmmm. Only 110k words to go. Egad, 110k words. Panic attack?

Clear skies,
Jim

Activate the wayback machine, Mr. Peabody

Okay, so last week I had a memory moment, one of those episodes where something gets dredged up out of the past. I don't know where these things come from, they just come out of the blue, like getting blindsided by a wing forward as you pop out of a scrum. (Three points to whoever correctly identifies that reference, sorry, Jeff, you're disqualified...) Anyway... look at the pretty lights when Sherman and Peabody punch that button...

Nineteen-sixty-one. The cold war and innocence battle for control of the minds of America's youth, and President Kennedy is worried about fitness. He forms the presidential council of fitness, and with the help of a famous stage and screen actor, sends to every (according to the propaganda, anyway) school, a six and a half minute exercise record. First graders and up are greeted in gym class, or on the morning PA, with which of the following?

A. Frank Sinatra sings "My way"
B. Richard Simmons does the Twist (and can't be seen on video, because it hasnt been invented yet)
C. Robert Preston takes a break from Music Man and sings "The Chicken Fat Song"

Anyone? Anyone?

I remember first and second grade, our once or twice weekly gym class teacher pulling out this record and playing, yes, "THE CHICKEN FAT SONG!" Oh, it was the most annoyingly mind-sticking song, we absolutely hated it. Nearly seven minutes of jumping jacks, push ups, and running in place while Mr. Preston belts out a broadway-quality, pre-video era exercise routine worthy of any boot camp. Marching music, a back up chorus, and words that, once triggered, probably mutated our little brains for all time. If anyone doubts that lines such as... "Give that chicken fat back to the chickens, and don't be chicken again, Go you chicken fat, Go!" hasn't warped todays generation beyond all repair, doesn't understand why both the United States and the Soviet Union spent billions on mind control research. ;-)

Anyway, the memory was jogged. Out of curiousity, I looked it up, and sure enough, someone was weird enough to archive it. Be warned, listening to this may cause epileptic fits, drooling, uncontrolled retching, smiling, giggles, and a reversion to childlike behavior. Be warned, but... Listen. It'll make you laugh. http://www.ubu.com/outsiders/365/2003/276.shtml

I think it should be required on all exercise mp3 players.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

More to come writing wise later.....
TTFN,
Jim

Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah.

Okay, so I'm not up for a catchy title yet. It's been one of those weeks where I've fought the arch villain, Inner Critic, to a standstill. He keeps poking at me, reminding me I'm doing it wrong, trying to turn me to the dark side. However, there are the occasional Rays of Hope (you hear me, Ray? I Hope?) I'm getting better at hitting a rhythm when I write, and I'm getting a sense for the feel of the tale better than when I started.

I can hear the question already, though. "You mean that you didn't have a feel for the tale when you started?" I suppose explaining what I mean by feel is in order. Starting out Imperfect Hope, I had a good sense of what the overall theme would be, the importance of "Hope". However, as I write, I'm getting a better feeling of the depth of how that theme will come together. The early parts of the novel will develop the main characters, Cerryn and Randir, showing their basic 'heroic' nature, as it has developed during their normally stressful but successful heroic lives. Then, crux encounter, which will change the fortunes of the protagonists. One will face his doubts through his faith, the other's faith, and hence hope, will falter. The feel for the tale incorporates a gradually darkening of situations, the playful banter of the early tale will later be replaced with grimness from the point of view of Cerryn and Randir.

Right now, I"m working on the pre-crux tale, setting the stage for the first reversal of fortune. I've introduced the antagonists, mysterious at first, and I'm building up to their first encounter. One of them is the Lord-Admiral of the Empire's fleet. He's a sympathetic character in an unsympathetic role, much like Phorix in "Sha'te Valley". Or so I hope.

At any rate, cheer me on. Word count keeps building, I've added more scenes and I've made notes on things the (Shhh, whisper his name lest he wake up) Inner Critic has identified. I promise, I"ll work on it later, just don't wake him up!!!

Clear skies,
Jim