Charles De Lint held a little writer's discussion, sponsored by the King County Library system.  I might do another blog post later outlining what he said in full but I wanted to touch on something he said that stuck with me.
  First though, I'm up to 35 pages now and I'm very near to getting the protagonists out of the village and on their way to the larger quest.  I didn't get my five pages done per day, obviously, but I did get something useful completed each day.
  And that's where we get back to Charles De Lint.  He said it was important to keep working on your story every day.  Now I believe in that myself, keeping the writing momentum going and all that.  But Charles gave a really good reason as to why you should do that.  He said that while you're working on your story every day, your subconscious and conscious mind will keep working on it as well.  Basically, you[ll keep working on it even when you're not working on it.
  I've noticed that when I'm working on a novel, my brain never stops thinking about it, about what needs to come next, about the characters and dialog snippets.  (As a side note, keep a notebook and pen with you EVERYWHERE.  You never know when inspiration or some good stuff will come to you.  Don't lose it) So that really rang true to me. 
  He also said that his goal each day he sits down to write is to move the plot forward.  No matter how many or how few pages he gets done, he wants to move the plot forward.  And that's my new, stated goal for my writing:  move the plot forward.
  So, even though it's gaming night tonight, I'm going to do at least one or two scenes for the novel as well.  Got to keep the momentum going.

Not a bad night last night.  I got 7 pages done in about 3 hours, above average.  Well behind goal for the week but not too bad.  I'm in Chapter 4 and unlike the previous chapters, this one may go on for a bit.  I want to show the village through the eyes of an outsider, ie. my female protagonist.  I'm switching POVs between chapters, going boy-girl-boy-girl...just like grade school.  There's a lot going to be happening in this chapter as well.
  I'm trying to decide about chapter construction.  Oh maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, this is the kind of thing I can tackle in subsequent drafts.  I like the short paragraph construction for moving the story along.  But longer chapters can be more engrossing.  And that's what I'm aiming for here. 
  Well, we'll write it and see what happens. 
  Tonight is the local library book sale, so I'm going from work to camp out there.  I might even borrow a computer and get some paragraphs or a page or two done.
  The characters have started to come to life and surprise me.  One is how the female protagonist has taken a subtle dislike to the main protagonist's friend.  I'm not sure why.  My best guess is that she doesn't like him taking credit for the effort and sacrifice the protagonist performed in rescuing her.
  The two boys are very much like.  Either could be the main character, honestly.  The friend, Isaac is skinny and quick where his friend, the protagonist is stocky and slow.  But both boys are honest, imaginative, adventurous.  But when the time came, when the found the female protagonist, Isaac saw how horribly she'd been injured and he ran away.  Jacob saw how beautiful she was and stayed.  One boy responding to a call for help and the other boy fleeing from it.  Campbellian, I know but we'll see if it works once people start reading it.
 

Ok, obviously I'm falling down on this a bit.  I got all of two paragraphs done yesterday.  Yeah, not two pages, two paragraphs. Oy.  I also need to read and critique three or so manuscripts for an inaugural writing group meeting on Saturday.
  So, how do I manage my time?  I'll tell you...I don't know.  (Thank you Tevye)  My first thought is to cut something.  Sleep might be what gets cut.  I spend seven hours sleeping a night.  Luxury!  With the sun and summer coming up fast, I might be able to trim that to 5 hours.  Green tea, Ginko and Ginseng will be tried to keep me up and at it.  Pepsi MAY have to get used as well.  Though a sedentary lifestyle and Pepsi isn't going to do my belly any good.
  I could quit gaming.  No more IM gaming on Monday, no more role-playing/Magic the Gathering on Wednesday.  But that means no longer seeing my friends.  I'm already seeing my wife less than I'd like, so I don't want to cut any time there, either.
  I could forget about the gym or going for hikes, but the truth is I need to work out.  And I write better after a good workout.
  Anyway, something's got to give.  We'll see what I can make happen. 
  I'm also going to try to use my writing time more productively.  No internet or games, just music and the story I'm moving from my head to the page.  Wish me luck.  :-/

I went directly from work to Sammamish, hours early for an author interview and signing with Guy Gavriel Kay*.  I blew my cool facade at least twice.  Once, when the guy from University Book Store (who sponsored Guy) was setting up books, I came up and introduced myself, thinking he was the author.  No, that was just Dewayne from UBS.  Oy.  And the second time was when I met the REAL Guy Kay: I was trying so hard to gush and be a fanboy and I mostly succeeded.  I thanked him for writing beautifully and caring about his words.  He thanked me in return, I smiled, he smiled, I asked, "Do you ever go to World Fantasy?"
  He said, "Oh yes, every year."
  I said, "Well, maybe I'll see you there."
  He said, "Good luck with your own work."  (I obviously am giving off the scent of a writer...time to start wearing more cologne)
  I thanked him again and left and only THEN realized...I forgot to introduce myself!  Well, Wayne knows who I am.  And if I do see Guy Kay at world Fantasy, I'll have a semi-embarrassing way of introducing myself, again.
  All of this meant I didn't get home before 9pm.  With a 10pm bedtime (I need to think about staying up later to write), you'd think I didn't get much work done.  You'd be right...and wrong.
 You see, I spent my lunch break at work typing away in gmail.  I got a page or so done for Chapter 5 but when I read back to myself I realized something.  I was telling, now showing.  I was TELLING everything the female protagonist was thinking and feeling but I wasn't SHOWING it.
  And suddenly it was clear how I should really start Chapter five.  I knew what I wanted to say or rather, show.  That work spent TELLING, told me what I needed to show.
  So, food for thought: try telling what you want to say, then go back and SHOW it, instead.  I'm going to, after I play some serious Magic: The Gathering tonight, taht is.  Sigh.  I am going to have to write my hinder off if I'm going to make that June 30 deadline...



*Is it me or is that the hardest middle name to spell in all Fantay?

Frank Frazetta died today.  The man was a giant.  I saw the documentary about his life, Painting with Fire a couple of years ago.  But well before that, I knew about him.  I had a book, Prisoner of the Horned Helmet, back when I was in High  School that was directly inspired by his 'Death Dealer' art.  Of the two, I reccomend the documentary.  :) 
  Ah but he was truly great.  Before Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell and who knows how many others, Frank Frazetta was creating muscular fantasy art.  I know I'd buy books just because his art was on the cover.  (see 'Prisoner of the Horned Helmet', I learned better, eventually)  His work on Conan will always be the standard by which that, other, iconic hero willl be judged.
  I could go on, I haven't even touched on the hotties he put in his artwork, thank you for that.  But I think it all boils down to this: He did great things and he will be missed.

  I almost hesitate to blog about anything else, after that news.  But, a short update.  Monday was gaming night, so I was busy doing IM roleplaying with my buddy.  That normally takes away from writing time, but I actually managed to finish a chapter of one of my side projects (a book of erotic fantasy, sword and sorcery.  Unpublishable, no doubt but fun to write).  Now, even if that side project never does anything but entertain me and a few other debauched souls, I don't count that as time wasted. 
  There are a lot of reasons to write two books in parallel (I don't reccomend it for short stories).  The most common and useful reason is to work around writer's block.  I haven't been visited by that curse for a while, thankfully, but I know a lot of writers struggle with it.  A side project will take the pressure of you and, most importantly, keep you writing. 
  I feel that writing has a momentum to it.  Or maybe that's just me, if I get into the habit of doing something, be it working out, shooting or writing, it becomes part of my life and doesn't become a chore.  So if I can keep writing, something, anything, every day, I'm feeding myself.  And feeding my addiction.  :)  Ah writing, a cruel, odd drug.  Or is it a disease?  Well, anyway, hopefully it won't get cured anytime soon.
  Final note: I'm going to a reading by Guy Gavriel Kay at the Issaquah library after work tonight.  I'm pretty excited.  I think Mr. Kay writes the most beautiful stories in fantasy. 

Pacing.  That's a real puzzle sometimes.  With Smooth Running I was telling an action/adventure story so things flowed very naturally.  With this new book, I'm on chapter 2 and wondering how quickly I should get to the main plot.  I want to provide enough world-building to be an immersive story but I don't want to get bogged down describing characters and settings that I won't be revisting until the epilogue.  I also want to be more action-oriented or at least going from conflict to conflict.
  On the other hand, showing the female protagonist what people think of the male protagonist can be a good thing.  Showing that Jacob is loved and that he has friends and favorite places might build a stronger bond to him in the reader's mind.
  So, wondering.  I think I'll just put in all the detail and then I can cut later.  Oy.  This first draft might be a big 'un for a YA novel.  :)  The important thing is to keep going.  I finished the first scene of chapter 2 but then sort of hit a snag.  By the time I'd figured out what I wanted to show next, I was too tired to write it.  Ah well, hopefully Friday night will be productive.  I want to do 35 pages a week; about half what I think COULD do in crunch mode. 
  Ah well, here's hoping chapter 2 gets done tonight and then I can get things rolling in Chapter 3.

  Ahhhhh, good to be back in the "throne of writing"(tm).  After the past days of writing workshops and reading about writing and talking about writing, it's good to be back actually writing again!
  I got two or two and a half solid hours of writing in.  I did some editing of the preview pages to get myself in the groove (that worked, by the way, thanks Dave).  Before long I was finished with Chapter one.  Again. 
  This is the second time tackling the beginning of the second novel.  I think it'll go a little better this time.  Regardless, I'm not going to go backwards again until it's time to revise.  I want to keep charging forward.  Forward momentum, as Miles Vorkosigan might say.
  My goal is to have the first draft done by June 30.  I think I can do it if I stay focused.  I got buy-in from the wife so she's more or less ok with me hibernating in my den most nights.
  Anyway, only four pages done but I think they're good pages.  As importantly, I'm having fun, writing.
  Now I've got to see if I can find some kind of progress bar addin for the main page.  I like what Brandon Sanderson did with his.  (http://www.brandonsanderson.com/