Posts

Posted on

Haymaker

I read a book doctor’s critique of another man’s writing yesterday. That critique threw laser-guided punches. I discovered I’m standing close enough to the mat to soak up some of the spit and blood and sweat.

While I’m certain I write better than the gentleman accomplished enough to be done writing a novel I’m not so sure how much better. I suck at commas; I’ve been promising myself I’d look up that whole dependant clause thing—again—and remember it this time. I over use semi-colons because I like them and think they’re cool—same with em dashes. I’m ok calling fragments stylistic when I’m sure there’s a plausible way to use a comma instead.

I’ve never held a character for an entire novel. Most times I’ve not carried them more than a page. None of them have ever experienced anything like growth or change. I doubt any of my characters in recent years displayed more than one emotion.

Tension. Huh?

Structure. Theme. Stakes. Volume. Girth. Texture. Nuance. Weight. Distance. Soul?

Yeah, well…

179 words on day 525

Posted on

Verdantly

I wish there were some way to write and listen to music that wasn’t always Enya. A glowing key keyboard might be nice too. I could really write the hell out of something if my keys glowed and I could listen to Old Crow Medicine Show. Alas, I cannot.

This green font in my Write Monkey application pleases me. I’m sorry you can’t enjoy the fresher-than-that-old-blue color with me.

My Kindle 3 case arrived today. The kindle will arrive at some future—as yet unspecified—date. Hopefully the pair will travel with me to Denver and Cimarron. My new Kindle would alert stewardesses to my hip self; my old iPhone would say, “But he’s not out of control.”

This green font awesomates.

Awesomates actively replaces the passive voice phrase ‘is awesome’.

As lame—or drunken—as this all may sound, writing this way serves a purpose. A purpose hard to define, but a pupose nonetheless.

160 words on day 524

Posted on

Between Gordawn

‘Tis Wednesday. The day of the humping.

I’m stepping back from Benhá for a bit. I’ll return with serious plotting soon. In this interim I came back to the Camp-home post from a year or more back to light plot Ron’s story. Unexpected backstory tumbled out and now I need to move forward from there.

A quick refresher if you are just joining us or if reading yesterday’s post troubles your sensibilities… Ron fell in love with Neri despite their families cultural resistance. The couple ran away from their mountain tribes to scrounge a city-life in Gordawn. Tension between the two led to an argument and Neri left the opressive city for the comfort of home. Ron, hurt and prideful, stayed in Gordawn as a pig-cutter. That summer job led to work as a hunter in the fall and early winter. His skill earned him a vacation of sorts and, being close to Camp-home, he has returned to visit his family and explain.

Too shamed to enter his former home along the traditional route—The Trail—Ron trudges a more direct path through the snowy mountains.

This is the extent of my discoveries. Nearly.

Ron’s route takes him close enough to Neri’s tribe’s settlement that he is spotted by scouts. Neri’s tribers capture Ron and haul him back to the settlement to face justice for Neri’s death.

Neri’s twin, Seri, explains to Ron what her tribers know: a hunting party crossed paths with the trade wagon Neri hired on with to return to her settlement. The encounter went bad, people were killed on both sides, and the trade wagon caught fire. The tribers eventually won the fight. When the went among the wreck to claim their fallen tribers and the spoils the discovered the wagon held the burnt bodies of several slave girls. One wore a [necklace|bracelet|trinket] which identified her as Neri.

Ron shares with Seri that he’s seen Neri in Gordawn since that encounter and that Neri can’t be dead. Seri wants to believe him but there isn’t time to convince her people before Ron’s punishment [whatever that is]. Seri frees him and they must make their way back to Gordawn to find Neri.

372 words on day 523