verbage: drowned city / Blood hiatus

[jazzfish]

Words: 658
Total words: 658
Neat things: "Fish and fishfolk circled below her." Questionable, unstable, and possibly-explosive technology.

New project, from a scrap of an idea I wrote down years ago (thanks to Vesper for being a note-taking app that's a delight to use, even though I'm only using the barest minimum of its functionality).

I have a setting, a Spunky Young Protagonist, and a general sense of brightly-colored fast-paced action. I know the next couple of scenes, and beyond that I have no idea whatsoever where this thing is going, or even how long it wants to be. To paraphrase Vincent "Apocalpyse World" Baker, Write to find out.

Eventually I'm going to need a title, but that can come with the plot.

---

"Weren't you writing something else?" Yep. New project is a result of stalling out on "Blood On Her Hands And A Stone At Her Throat," partly because I am unsure of the proper capitalisation for the honking long title but mostly because I can't come up with a plot climax to fit the emotional climax I want. This may be a case of being kneedeep in a story and thinking it's terrible (step 3, or possibly 4, of Marcus Romer's six steps of the creative process) but I'm pretty sure it's more than just that. It Does Not Work on a fundamental level and I just can't get it to work.

My options include "write it anyway," which I am not thrilled by, "rip the middle of the story apart again and rewrite it," which I am not thrilled by, and "set it aside for awhile and come back to it later," which I am not thrilled by but which at least doesn't make me want to tear my hair out. Hence, new project.

Comments

[okrablossom]

Yay to 658 words! Woohoo!

[jazzfish]

:) I am pretty happy with that part, especially since that was in under an hour.

[thanate]

Yay progress!

Re: "Blood..." option 4 is to send it to a couple beta readers with an explanation of the problem. Then when they tell you the wrong answer/ask the wrong questions that may help sort out the negative space where the right answer is. I'd probably save that for in case option 3 doesn't work out. Also combineable with option 1. Good luck.

[jazzfish]

That... is a pretty good idea. Though it requires the rest of it to be in better shape than it is. Then again putting the rest of it in better shape might also break open the plot problem. Thanks! (Will worry at it later.)

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the new project and on words!

Setting aside is usually my method, too, when I get too close to a project. I hope you get a revelation on it while working on your new project.

Like the sound of your new project with fishfolk. :)

[jazzfish]

Thanks. :)

I don't really expect a revelation, not when I'm not actively chewing on it. What seems more likely, and more possible, is for it to sort of settle in my backbrain. Then when I come back to it I'll stare at it for a day or so and then suddenly know what I need to do to make it work. That's the hope, anyway.

[davidgoldfarb.livejournal.com]

"Blood on Her Hands and a Stone at Her Throat" would be my suggestion as regards capitalization.

[jazzfish]

I would believe that. It's pronouns (and to a lesser extent conjunctions) that I can never remember/derive rules for.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Firm believer here in letting back brain do some of the heavy lifting.

[jazzfish]

O my yes. I can count on one finger the number of story problems I have solved on my own by just bashing through (and it was a good solution, too), whereas the ones where I've chewed on it halfheartedly for a few days/weeks and then come back to it and BAM ... well, the fingers of at least one hand, anyway.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Nodding here like a dashboard doll.