A day with the gypsies

Welp, got caught up in (pshaw!) work yesterday, and only got it to 6900. More today. Poor Isabella is now being carried upside down in a sack by a bunch of gitanos (Spanish gypsies). I have no idea how or why that happened--is this a frigging historical, or what?--but we shall proceed from there. I do know she's only gone for a day. I guess she wanted a little adventure.

Second term starts today, but in spite of the temptation to load up with classes I refrained, and kept to my 4 units. Discipline, people! Sometimes it pops up in me unexpectedly. I don't want to lose the momentum I have going on Book 2, and the plans I have for TMT revisions. Which I will get on as soon as I finish reading TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG.

I got this postcard in my work mail yesterday, and put it up on the wall directly. Diligence is what will make it all happen.



More later--must get back to the legislative brochure now!

And then what happened?

I got some great work done on Book 2 yesterday, and added some more today at lunch when I wasn't hampered by eating. {s} I'll try to work on it a bit more later and get it at least to 7,000 by the end of the day.

Yesterday I realized a trick that I pull on myself to keep my motivation going, and thought it might be useful for someone else.

When I stop for the day--which is usually because of time constraints with me, but sometimes just because I've done enough--I try to stop in medias res. Right in the thick of the scene, often even at a cliffhanger. I don't wrap things up neatly at the end of my workday, with a resolution or with the character going to sleep.

Why? Well, I hadn't even realized I did this until yesterday, but when I thought about it for half a minute it was clear. When you're reading a good book, what keeps you going? What keeps you turning the pages after you meant to go to bed, or keeps your thoughts flying back to the book-world during the day? Tension, and uncertainty. So I do the same thing when I'm constructing a story. To keep myself thinking about it and intrigued enough to tackle it the next day, I end with a hook for myself.

Yesterday's hook for the end of the day was:

I stopped when I saw the gypsies, but not in time.

So today I had a fascinating place to start, and I was eager to get back to it and find out what the heck was up with the gypsies. I wonder if this also helps to make sure there is continued tension in the book--if I'm constantly trying to interest myself, maybe it helps to keep readers there too.

Tricks we play with ourselves.

Medieval Word of the Day: Hock-day: The second Tuesday after Easter Sunday; Hock Tuesday: in former times an important term-day, on which rents were paid, and the like, Hock-day and Michaelmas dividing the rural year into its summer and winter halves. It was also, from the 14th c., and probably earlier, a popular festival, signalized by the collection of money for parish purposes by roughly humorous methods.

The Secret Life of Characters

Goals today:
Writing: 500 words on Book 2.
Work: Keep editing "the Sapphire Report"
Home: Play something fun with Child tonight. Maybe a puppet show, with the penguin stick puppets she just made at school.

Diana Peterfreund was talking about character revelations today--those moments when a character lets something slip as you're writing, and suddenly (AHA!) you understand them better.

It happens to me all the time. As I was writing TMT Katherine kept getting squirrelly about water. It was prominent in one scene that got cut, but it's still there, throughout. She avoided ponds and rivers (especially rivers), but I didn't know why--she just wouldn't go there. Then I was writing a scene about a third of the way through, and she suddenly tells a story to her friend, as a way to pass the time, and as an indication of how close they're getting. Turns out her mother drowned when she was 3, in the River Wear, and Katherine was the only witness.

Wow. Cool, huh? Tragic of course, but amazing. I didn't know that about her, but still saw the effects of it on her character, so that it made perfect sense when it was revealed. And little revelations like that happened throughout the writing of the book.

(Edited to say I put that bit up as the new excerpt. You can click on the link to the right, or here.)

I'm experiencing it now, again, with Book 2, and this time with both of my main characters. I haven't had a major revelation yet, but Isabella's showing me all the time that she's not a flat character from a chronicle, nor exactly what I would expect. (She's flirting--flirting!--at the age of 11! I tried to tell her to cut it out, but she is so not listening to me.) And Constanza, who history books peg as religious and dull, is snarky and bitter when she's with her sisters, and oh so full of pride. Just yesterday she called the English "northern fools" and disparaged them for talking during Mass. Who said they talk during Mass? I didn't! And why is she compliant and quiet when she's with the English (which of course is the part that's chronicled), but resentful in private? I can't wait to find out.

This writing stuff is fascinating, isn't it?

Medieval Word of the Day: glent: To move quickly or with a gliding motion, esp. in an oblique direction.

Lack of beverages but lots of fish

My goal today was to write 500 words--which is small, but if I manage that much every day it will add up (at least 2500 words a week, 10,000 words a month, a book a year. Forget that I'm writing a first draft--there will be times I'll write more and faster, as I get into it). I got 420 before I had to stop because I really ran out of non-work time. So why are you writing here, you ask. To which I say--shaddup!

As always, my characters surprised me.

From Isabella:

I wanted to make a sharp comment, to show her my superior knowledge, my wit. But she was my sister, and unhappy. I knelt before her, pulled her to me. She did not relax into my arms--just leaned stiffly, like a statue--but she did not turn away.

Huh. I was sure Isabella was going to make the sharp comment. {shrug}

Did I ever mention that I work on a college campus? So from December 13 through January 17 (oh, and summer), the place is deserted--no students, no professors, no admins. No COFFEE. {le martyred sigh} I can't wait until January 17, when "the coffee mill" will open up again for my necessary afternoon addictive beverage. In the meantime, vanilla tea again, which does not have the same level of caffeine.

In the "kids make old things new and cool again" category, Child received a game of Go Fish for Christmas, and we've been having a lot of fun playing as a family over the past few days. Though hubby kicks our butt most of the time (what IS his secret? No, never mind). I've taught Child to do a solid handshake and say "well played" at the end, whether we win or not. Yes, it's vaguely reminiscent of British people playing tennis, but what the heck. It sounds cute in a 4-year-old.

Medieval Word of the Day: fulsome: Characterized by abundance, possessing or affording copious supply; abundant, plentiful, full.

Cool New Stuff

Still plugging away on Book 2--I'll get some more words out today. I'm trying the POV of the other sister, Constanza, though it's really awkward for me to write in 3rd person. I'm not sure if I'll keep those bits or not. It's a useful exercise in any case, though, as Constanza has suddenly turned out to be quite different in private, and in her head, than she is with people other than her sisters. Hmmm.

I'm also going through Linda Seger's "How to Create Unforgettable Characters" with an idea to strengthening Katherine in TMT, and am already making useful notes. Once I finish the book I'm going to print the whole puppy out again and make edits in longhand on the printed version.

Also thought y'all might be interested in the books I got for Christmas. Strong on historicals, but eclectic nonetheless. I'm read the Jasper Fforde (I LOVE those books) and started the Connie Willis last night.

--Who Murdered Chaucer? A Medieval Mystery, by Terry Jones
--The Boleyn Inheritance, by Philippa Gregory
--Something Rotten, by Jasper Fforde
--To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis
--The Sun Singer, by Malcolm Campbell (a Forumite; I've been meaning to read it for years)
--The Traitor's Wife, by Susan Higginbotham (a fellow blogger)
--Montana Women Writers: A Geography of the Heart, by Caroline Patterson (non-fic)

and a memoir that I'm embarrassed I can't remember without it in front of me; I'll have to check and post it from home. A good haul, eh? {s} So what books did you get for Christmas?

Medieval Word of the Day: fool-largess: Foolish lavishness, prodigality.

Rawhide

Moving, moving, moving...keep those dogies moving...

Isabella was talking last night, and I got a good whole scene out and expanded on it today. Yippee! I love that high. I ran out of time at lunch to start the next scene, but I'm percolating. Maybe I can squeeze in some more time tonight, and I definitely will tomorrow.

Go Isabella!

I also ran across another reference source, thanks to Susan Higginbotham (whose book I got for Christmas, BTW, along with about 10 others).

Medieval Word of the Day: kythe: To make known in words; to announce, proclaim, declare, tell.
(OMG, did any other Madeleine L'Engle fans know that this was a real word?)

Progress and Men of Snow

I made a little itsy bitsy bit of progress on Book 2, which currently feels like a shuddering mess. A short shuddering mess. Fortunately I know this is mostly what happens when I take too long of a break and my confidence falters, so I will sit down and stare at it again tomorrow.

On Books & Writers they were looking at first lines of chapters today, so I did a quick skim through TMT...and discovered I have an awful lot of chapters with Katherine waking up, or the start of a new day. I don't like this, but I don't think it's something I should address now. I definitely will keep it in mind as Book 2 solidifies, though. Once you recognize a pattern it's time to change it.

We had fun making a snowman after work last night, as we briefly had sticky snow wet enough to roll. Usually we just have the powdery dry stuff that falls apart, so we have to take our snowman opportunities when they come. I think most of it melted today, though--we'll see how much is left of him when we get home!

Tomorrow we're having delayed Christmas dinner and present exchange with my mom and stepdad, since I was too sick on actual Christmas, and we've been gone since. Yay, more presents. I like to stretch good things out as long as possible!

And now...it's almost time to go home and eat. I've been starving all day.

Medieval Word of the Day: rammish: Of smell, taste, etc.: Rank, strong, highly disagreeable.

Hey, it's still progress

Last night we went to a performance of the New York Theatre Ballet. Wow. They did theatrical dances to Gershwin (I love a Gershwin tune...), a classical piece, a couple of modern pieces, and the original choreography of Carousel. Afterwards the dancers all sat at the edge of the stage and answered questions. It was fabulous!

In other news, I'm moving along at snail's pace with Book 2, but I am moving. You NaNo'ers will scoff, but I seem to be writing at about 250 words a day right now. I know this is okay, because it'll pick up a lot once I settle into it a bit more. Right now for every scene I have to work hard to figure out who's there, what all their relationships are to each other (complicated!) and some approximation of how they look and how their surroundings look. Before they say a darned thing! I'm also proceeding with my first attempt at a SFD (shitty first draft). Since I don't know if any of these scenes will even be needed in the end, I'm not polishing them over and over. I'm improving them, but I'm leaving them a little rough, and a little vague on details. Those will come as I continue to do research.

I think one of my struggles with this book is going to be keeping my focus, and not including all these juicy details I keep finding out about these people. Murders! Lovers! Secret marriages! I swear, I could write a novel about each one of them individually and have plenty of material. Must focus on the two sisters. {s}

It's coming up on Thanksgiving, hurrah! I will probably be light to nonexistent on the blogging over the weekend (starting Thursday), since I never have time to sit down and do it at home.

Do you Americans out there have your turkeys all ready?

Medieval Word of the Day: citole: A stringed instrument of music much mentioned in 13-15th c.; originally the same as the cithara, though the mediæval name may have been given to a special form.

Kids and the Totally Hot Black Prince

Well, I was feeling a little petulant--Miss 4.5-year-old is apparently going through another 'testing' phase, and this morning had not only push, push, push but direct disobedience, and a complete failure to understand that when I say 'no' I mean 'no' for real, and I'm not going to change my mind in 5 minutes. {sigh}

But then I read DaMomma, and I'm feeling oh so much better about MY day. I did not have poop on my bare feet, and I slept the whole night through. Life is good. {g}

I settled in to write on Book 2 yesterday, and ended up only tweaking a few sentences, and spending the rest of the time doing research. Sucks when you're writing a historical and you can't remember or find in your notes whether the heck your characters actually did go to Portugal and talk to the King or just tried to and were turned back!! So I found a couple of books that should tell me and ordered them through ILL. Today I'm going to have to skip forward in book-time and write something I know happened. My first foray into non-linear writing, wow.

Fortunately it's rather a fun bit, I think. If you were an 11-year-old girl, wouldn't YOU have a crush on the Black Prince, who is going to step in and heroically save your family? I mean, check it out:

Hot, right? Totally. {g} Isabella is so all over that. I don't think the Black Prince exactly returns her admiration (fortunately), but I already know of some other interesting dynamics that are going to pop up here...

Looking forward to working on it today! I think Isabella's just itching for me to get to the parts where she's older, and actually has some control over things. Then I'll really get to see her personality. Strong as it is.

Medieval Word of the Day: ostiary: A doorkeeper, esp. of a church; spec. a member of the lowest of the four lesser orders in the pre-Reformation Western Church, and later in the Roman Catholic Church. Now hist.

Feeling the way in

First, VOTE!!

I know, you've heard it everywhere today. But your vote really will matter in this election.

This is an odd week, because hubby and I both have today AND Friday off, but Child still has school today. I got her all ready and off to school, and then I got to come back and sit here with a mongo cup of coffee, typing away on the laptop while hubby sleeps in. Ahhh, nice. It's quite gray and gloomy, but with no rain yet. But we almost always get Seattle's weather eventually, so I know it's coming!

I did start working on Book 2 again yesterday, after a long hiatus. What an odd feeling, like trying on clothes from college days. Trying to stretch myself inside skin that I don't quite know anymore. It's still so early in this book that I have no clue what I'm doing. I have an inkling of the character(s), a general idea of major plot events for the first half, a vague sense of their surroundings. Nothing clear. I'm going to have to keep working at it for a while until it sharpens.

So speaking of that, while I have a few moments. Off to read the little bit I wrote yesterday, and see where I can pick up!