Setting the Pace | Nathan Bransford, Author.
Pacing is the length of time between moments of conflict.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
kong stuffing
Or, how I spent my morning instead of writing.
First, take two Kongs, one per dog. Block up the small ends with little pieces of Slim Jims that I keep frozen for just such usage. Then fill them with a layer of peanutbutter and a layer of not-the-usual kibble. I’m presently using some Beneful I got on sale. It’s easier to stsuff them with the Kongs propped upright. I use coffee mugs. They’re the perfect size.
Next, microwave them, still in the cups. Cobie and Kelly watched this procedure anxiously. Kelly got herself all in a blur.
I did the black Kongfor a minute, because black heats up faster, and the blue one for a minute and a half. When they came out, they looked like this:
I topped them up with more peanut butter and popped them in the freezer. They’ll last much longer when the melty peanut butter hardens, and I like them to last. To stave off disappointment in the meanwhile, I offered up the spoon:
And since Cobie was being a greedo–surely not because I accidentally cut off the top of his head in the last shot–and was crowding out Kelly, I put the camera (my phone) down and gave her some peanut butter on my finger.
I did write later…or actually, outlined. Outlining is not writing, but it has to be done, at least by me. Between outlining and typing this, I’ve reached lunchtime, so I’m off to find some noms.
one thingadingie…two thingadingies
After days of wallowing, I finally have a one-sentence thingie for Seldom.
I know better than to share the thingie. Nothing kills a fledgling story for me like the Arctic wind of outside scrutiny…but I have a thingie! And I had to share that I have it–the thingie.
If I were a real writer, I’d be able to remember what the one-sentence thingie is and not keep calling it a thingie.
I can probably also share that there’s probably going to be a maguffin, or something maguffinlike. A maguffin thingie.
Probably.
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P.S. They are one-sentence pitches. But I don’t need a pitch yet, so for me it’s a one-sentence summary. Having it makes me feel less likely to wander off in hunting plot tribbles.
oh, so that’s next
I was just trying to noodle the first two scenes and realized I need my heroine to do something good right away, something heroic even, like saving the cat.
So now I’m leafing through Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder. This book is actually about writing screenplays, and was not my favorite when I first read it in 2008. That’s probably at least partly because according to Save the Cat, godlight is a superhero story, or would be if it were a film. Still, the book has good ideas about character and plot, and I’m looking for questions the answers to which will help flesh out my story.
Even though I’m marginally more of a dog person, I love the concept of saving cats. One of my all time favorite heroines became one of my all time favorite heroines when Ellen Ripley went back for Jonesy, the ship’s cat.
So onward, noodle.
what next
The Snowflake Method has lost it’s allure, for now. I want to dive in to the composing, but I know it’s too soon for that, so what next?
Well, I don’t know it’s too soon, but I think it’s too soon.
It might be time to spend the day watching Netflix or playing Harvest Moon. Sometimes that is part of The Process too.
feed
Apparently the feed only works if you actually, like…post something!
No, I’m not a dingleberry.
Well, maybe.
new blog, and the whys and hows
I am not going to write about how to write, like some authors do, because I don’t know how to write. I might occasionally write about how I write, because I do know that…although how I write changes on a half-regular basis. However, talking about The Process tends to bring it to a screeching halt, so not too much of that either.
But for the first post on a new blog, ok.
Currently I’m not even really writing, I’m noodling. Or pre-writing. Working on character info, plot, and most importantly (to me) motivation. Why is this happening? Why are these people reacting this way? What does she want, and why? As I learned from writing godlight, when the characters are fully realized, they’re more likely to take the story bit in their teeth and run with it. I’m doing this pre-writing longhand, which is my preferred method for drafting anything. Typing it in then becomes part of revision, an extra pass.
I need all the passes I can get, as I am a Tyop Queen, but I have a hard time seeing my own mistakes because I see what I know I wrote, instead of what’s there.
The pre-writing is happening at my desk. When I’m ready to start drafting, I’ll probably take some loose leaf paper to Grand Central Station the kitchen table where I’ll write little bits when they occur to me.
That whole Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard thing has never really worked for me. It feels like punishment, and for me writing is a joy and an escape.
As to the how of noodling, today I am using the Snowflake Method. A few days back, I was using Donald Maass’ The Breakout Novelist. At some point I will almost certainly pull out Holly Lilse’s Create a Character Clinic and Create a Plot Clinic. I will also doubtless consult my old Tarot deck and a book or two on astrology before I’m done.
I do what feels like it’s working until it stops, and then do something else. I guess that’s my Process in a nutshell.