So, after liveblogging on Wednesday, I have two major observations. First, it was a good motivator. I felt quite compelled to stay on task, because people (probably not a lot of people, but people) would know if I didn’t. This was good.
But secondly, I felt a little rushed. I kept wanting to post those “Three pages done!” “Five pages done!” kind of messages. Because, what can I say? I’m an overachiever. Sadly, this impulse was less than stellar for my quality. Sometimes what you need to do is not write the next two pages, it’s tool around with ideas, woolgather, and search for exactly the right word.
As for the distraction factor, the jury’s still out on that one. Today I’m going to liveblog for another 2-3 hours and see if I can make something good out of it. I will specifically not be trying to add to my page count. If that happens, fine, but what I’ll really be working on today is polishing up the pages I already have. So here we go…
4:02 PM: Getting started. I think the first problem is that Scene 1 needs to go on a little longer. I need more going on between Harold and Gina. Too much of my first draft is entirely in Harold’s head.
4:46 PM: Question: Are we still doing two spaces after periods or has the ubiquity of word processors eclipsed the need for that? I really don’t want to have to learn to type all over again.
4:57 PM: Whew. First scene 100% better. And, not to be all overachieve-y, but, hey, 10 pages!
5:22 PM: I’m worried that I may be harping on Harold’s condition a bit overmuch. It’s important, but a character can only complain about one thing so much before the reader is all like “Dude, buck up.” I guess I’ll just see how it reads in the final draft and adjust if necessary.
5:33 PM: Second scene was mostly in shape and went fast. On to scene 3.
5:34 PM: Is it cheaty to use a flashforward to give your first graf punch? Any opinions?
5:41 PM: Scene 3, you are my worst nightmare.
5:45 PM: Time for Harold to face a long, dark night of doubt. Time for me to make a list of ten: best arguments against Harold’s theory.
5:56 PM: Ooh, Facebook chat.
6:01 PM: Ok, back to list of ten.
7:02 PM: Time for dinner and chores.
Harold had learned to let wonderings like this go. Getting to the bottom of them was simply too exhausting. Composing a question, then dribbling it out word by word, then correcting the inevitable misunderstandings on the part of the listener. By the time Harold got an answer to his query, he usually discovered that he didn’t really care about it anymore.
But he did care about Hattie. He had known both her and Marian for a long time, since they were all young adults raising their children in the small suburb of Windhaven. The image of Hattie standing over Marian’s body stayed with him, and by lunch time he had still not shaken the feeling that something was wrong.
i don’t know about everything, but i can tell you that APA format had gone to 1 period (5th Ed) and is now back to 2 (6th) (thank freaking goodness)