Thud: Patron Saint of Nothing

[leahbobet]

August 14, 2007 Progress Notes:

The Patron Saint of Nothing

Words today: 900.
Words total: 36,300 MS Word.
Reason for stopping: Out of words for now.
Liquid Refreshment: Stash lemon blossom iced tea.
Munchies: Tuna casserole.
Exercise: None.
Mail: An envelope with a purple question mark on it that was from some dating service. I feel that envelopes with purple question marks on them should be from The Riddler.

Darling du Jour: N/A.
Tyop du Jour: N/A
Words MS Word Doesn't Know: N/A

Mean Things: Case: Girlcooties! Ew!
Qara: Captivity, a boyfriend in shock, and a wet bum.
Research Roundup: N/A
Books in progress: Rudy Rucker, Postsingular; Chaz Brenchley, Bridge of Dreams.

The glamour: I don't even know why I tried this, but apparently the ear piercing holes that I haven't used in five years or so? Actually aren't closed. Tried it with a dull earring and they went through with only a little pop at the back.

I now have some silver ammonite-shell-spiral studs in them, as those are pretty much the only pair of earrings from my preteen years that I'd actually want on my person anymore. Apparently one is supposed to like hearts in one's ears at that age. And dangly hearts. And big silver dolphins. And hearts.

Must sort out what kind of earrings don't look like ass with my bone structure and acquire them.

---

So yes, back to work on this since we decided to have a working afternoon in chat. I think I've figured out what was actually going wrong here, which isn't ohmigod 35k in and there's no plot just setting aaaaah let's go hide now, but that I was setting up too much plot. I can't have four different major endpoint goals in four different directions. Maybe two. Focus, people! *whipcrack*

I wonder if this is another place where novels built on Cool Shit(tm) fall down: in the beginning in terms of engaging the reader with character and not just place, and in the middle with...failing to focus all that free-floating Cool Shit into something that makes a coherent and causal narrative.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Are you sure they don't want you to date the Riddler? Because that would be...well, interesting at least....

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Well, they said they'd match me up with some prototypical buff boy that girls are supposed to like if I paid them a lot of money, so alas, that does not sound like The Riddler. At least The Riddler is interesting.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

They didn't include an order form you could fill out checking the "Riddler" box? That's really sad.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Alas.

Even worse, there was no Batman box either.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

You're right, that is worse.

Was there at least a Bruce Wayne box? "Billionaire playboy with 18.2% chance of turning out to be a superhero"?

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

No. :(

See what I mean when I say there's no dateable boys in Toronto?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

No freakin' kidding! This is awful!

I suppose there's no sense to even asking about humble journalists/photographers who might have a 31.29% chance of turning out to be superheroes. The pattern is all too clear.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Maybe if we had some Crime they'd all move here.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Your duty to the other single people in Toronto is clear.

now with less witches

[(Anonymous)]

...should be "the craft - now with fewer witches", or "the craft - now with less witchery".

Re: now with less witches

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Okay, did you seriously just make an anonymous driveby comment for the sole purpose of snarking about tag grammar?

I mean...you know, you could pull up a chair and introduce yourself. Add to the conversation, yes?

Re: now with less witches

[(Anonymous)]

did i do it seriously? certainly. did you think i was joking?

i didn't mean to be all snarky and driveby about it; grammar surveillance is my job.

correcting ppl's grammar is *how* i introduce myself and join in to conversations. on the bus. in nightclubs. at sporting venues. in greengrocer shops...

i hope i haven't caused offence. i was just trying to be helpful.

Re: now with less witches

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Okay. Around here, one introduces oneself by saying who they are, how they found the journal, and adding something interesting to the general conversation. I'd be happy to have you here if you're willing to. :)

Re: now with less witches

[(Anonymous)]

ok.

hi, i'm gully. i don't have a livejournal account.

i found you via strange horizons.

i enjoyed your story about the girl from another world. i especially liked the way she wore clothes that were too big for her. that's a good detail. it resonated with my experience of people who are out of place. i had this friend who ran away from school when we were all little, and i went after her to help her out; the thing i most remember about when i met up with her at our secret rendezvous spot in the city was the enormous army coat she'd chosen to steal from her dad to keep her warm on the streets.

i liked the irony of that. how it made her smaller and larger, reliant and independent, all at the same time.

your princess reminded me of that.

so i followed the link at the bottom of that strange horizons page, just a-looking to see if there was any more of your writing on the web.

and that led me here.

lesser/fewer is one of my favourite things to correct. that and affect/effect, and - of course - it's/its. i couldn't help myself.

if i understand correctly, you're saying you have too many plotlines in your current project? in my writing i like to have one major plotline, augmented by some minor plotlines that play out in the background, the latter to keep the punters awake while my major plotline grinds its way to crisis.

i tend to work with a very large story arc.

problem i find is that the story arc is so large that by the time i've gotten to my punchline, i've spawned two or three sideplot universes along the way.

so i'm trying to rein in this universe-spawning propensity by writing short stories, rather than serials.

my latest project was to be this 3k thing on a girl in a beach house in winter, who is all alone on this entire beach house estate, but who gets haunted by the possibility of eyes in windows to the point that she does some regrettable but interesting things.

simple, right?

in my head it was clear cut and defined, but then i started writing it (which is when clear cut and defined melts away) and now i'm struggling to stop it turning into this huge thing that also encompasses her relationship with the wealthy businessman who is keeping her in the beach house as a little piece on the side to complement his unfulfilling marriage to a woman whose teenage children drop down to the beach house one weekend spontaneously and discover on-the-side girl...

you can see my problem. sideplots spawning everywhere.

none of that blether is meant as advice, of course (it would be pretty useless as such). i'm just sharing.

and that's that.

to paraphrase john lennon, i hope i passed the audition.

-- gully

[battle-of-one.livejournal.com]

Hey you! Derek and I are probably coming down for Bear's book launch this Saturday. Want to do dinner or something?

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I do. I suspect there'll be a mass dinner migration somewhere or other after the signing. :)

[ksumnersmith.livejournal.com]

Must sort out what kind of earrings don't look like ass with my bone structure and acquire them.

Oh, oh! I know someone who is obsessed with earrings and might be able to help with this! (Hint: it's me.)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Hee. Awesome. *g*

Parameters thus far include NO HEARTS.

[ksumnersmith.livejournal.com]

Not to worry, I quite agree. Out of the hundreds of pairs of earrings that I own, NONE involve hearts. Hearts are banned.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I have no idea why people kept giving me heart earrings.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

from The Riddler containing Batman underpants! ^_^

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

See, that would have rocked my world.

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I feel that envelopes with purple question marks on them should be from The Riddler.

Just to let you know, this made me choke with laughter. And I wasn't even eating or drinking anything. :P

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Hee. Um, don't die? :)