Well, tonight was productive. I managed to knock out another 20 something scenes in treatment form. That means I only have another twenty something to go. I’m down to about seventy five scenes now. I cut a few and saw that I could easily combine a couple into some pretty nice longer action sequences. I really like the way this novel feels. And I love the middle. This is the first one I’ve ever plotted where I had such confidence in the middle. There’s a lot of nice little surprises and character developments that I think are going to really make readers like these people. My goal here has been to write the kind of book I would want to read. So far, it’s shaping up to be just that.
Additionally, I’m back to studying poetry. However, this time I’m taking a formal approach to it. I haven’t done that before and it’s about time. I’m not sure how well my prose is going to mix with a military science fiction novel, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Which is, by the way, what I’m writing. It doesn’t seem to be like most of the novels I’ve been reading in my research. I’ve yet to determine if this is a bad thing. I’m thinking I might have to scale back the descriptions a bit, but then maybe not: my first rule was to write a novel that I would enjoy reading, and I do enjoy something that is meaty. Scalzi has meaty, so I think I’m probably okay. Ringo and Weber though, they have the action down. I’ve especially learned to appreciate how well Ringo can get a lot of information in quickly without it seeming like an infodump. Amazing work. It’s amazing what you find in our little ghetto when you focus on people’s strengths. Everyone has something to teach—even when it’s lessons in what not to do.
I’m again in love with Shakespeare’s writing. I read a portion of Hamlet tonight, and I had completely forgotten just how amazing a talent the bard was. I really need to pick up the complete works some time soon and make a point of reading through everything. I have a whole new appreciation of it now. It’s not just reading, it’s experiencing. I want so much to experience Shakespeare again.
Some good news on the publishing front. It looks like I might be in an upcoming anthology. I don’t want to jinx it until I know for sure for sure, but when I have more details I’ll let everyone know. Oh, and I’ve quite playing PC games. No really, I’ve totally quite. The more time I’ve been devoting to writing the more I’m loving the writing again, so I think I want to make a really serious go at it again. I know some folks were worried that I have “wasted” my trip to Clarion West, but believe me it was absolutely no waste. I just needed to get over living a hard part of my life. The writing lately has been great. Now I just need to clean a few things up and get them out the door.