February 18, 2009

Posted on | 2 years, 11 months ago, in the evening | 2 Comments

Ken‘s reading last night was a real hoot, and if you haven’t picked up his marvelous brand new novel yet, then you absolutely ought to. I got mine last night. And it’s signed. He’s a great guy, that Ken — and I’m not just saying that because we’re practically cousins.*

Monday’s Christopher Moore event was cool too, though not everyone in the audience was likewise groovy. I don’t know. Different vibe. But Moore seems like a funny guy, and maybe I’ll pick up one of his books, one of these days.

Anyway. Here’s my present progress on my book about a kidnapped baby with webbed hands and feet; her 17-year-old half brother who’s determined to rescue her; a creepy island in Puget Sound that’s been quarantined since 1918, and the Mother Hydra cult that has established itself thereupon; now with Bonus! fish people, religious zealots, and a teenage cryptozoology fanatic who really should’ve picked another hobby:

Project: (Tentative title) Far-Fetched
New Words: 2583 (between today and yesterday)
Present Total Word Count: 12,597 words
Goal: 65,000 words



Observations: I’ve almost got the players to the island now, which tickles me pink. The island is where all the really wazzy stuff will go down, but a certain amount of set-up is required to get them there … and it’s been coming together pretty well in the last couple of days. I’m not making mad gangbusters progress on this thing, but then again, I’m not really trying to. I’m just trying to hold steady around a thousand words a day — more if possible, but if not, I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Performed standard day-job duties; changed the litterbox; answered a bunch of emails; mailed off some stuff; went to the store for some Drano; fixed clogged kitchen sink; took care of a bit of writing business.

Reason for Stopping: Getting hungry. Contemplating a big fat pot of Spaghetti a la Cherie.** The husband will likely not complain when he gets home, as he seems to rather dig my personal wacky style of pasta.


* We have both an agent and a publisher in common. That makes us quasi-related, right?
** Boil lots of spaghetti in a really huge pot. Drain it. Throw it back in the pot. Dump in a spaghetti sauce, a splash of milk, a glop of butter, and an excessive dusting of Parmesan cheese. Stir it all up and dump it in a big bowl. Add more cheese. Call it “done.” Yeah, it’s kind of slap-dash and trashy, but you don’t hear me making any apologies, do you?

Category: misc

Comments

2 Responses to “February 18, 2009”

  1. Malcolm Tredinnick
    February 18th, 2009 @ 8:20 pm

    I like reading the “observations” bit about your works in development. Shows the development without giving away the game.

    A process question, then, if I may…

    How much do you plot out or outline before you get down to putting story words on paper? For example, here you know that all the cool stuff is going to be on the island. Is this because it’s been playing in your head for a while, or because of your extensive three bound volumes of research and pre-planning, or because the novel universe is devoid of anywhere else to do stuff and you’ll be as surprised as the rest of us to find out what happens there?

    I get the feeling from some of your other in-progress notes last year that you’re working from a storyline in your head. Care to do a “how I write” post anytime in the future? Or will that give away the magic?

  2. Cherie
    February 18th, 2009 @ 8:25 pm

    Hmm. Well, I don’t know, really. I’ve always been sort of a, “Write it by the seat of my pants” sort of girl — though immersion in the industry does occasionally require me to at least put forth a general synopsis.

    More often than not, when I’m just starting a project, I only have a vague idea of what it’ll look like when it’s done. I do HAVE a vague idea; I mean, it’s not a total mystery or anything … but the discovery and exploration of the world/characters/whatever is half the fun of it (for me. personally. I have author friends who are completely horrified by my approach, or lack thereof.).

    This particular story? I know what the island looks like, and I know what’s on it, and I know WHO is on it; furthermore, I know what plans the bad guys have for the baby. But other than that? I’ll figure it out as I go. I’ll drop the kids into the pond and see how well they swim.

    And that’s pretty much the sum of it, at the moment.

    :)

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