Saturday morning -- once again, 11:15, though I have to say I managed to get to my desk before 11:00 at least. I spent the last 25 minutes nostalgically reviewing photos and news stories in my "Dear Prudence" -- I mean "Bangalored" -- folder. Having met with Elise a few days ago to talk about what the book needed before she felt comfortable putting it out there, it's been on my mind.
But last night while I was falling asleep I got a halfway good idea for how to do the next chapter, which is chapter 6.
After this weekend, there are 8 weekends before Thanksgiving. If I keep up a pace of 5000 words per week, that's another 40,000 words, which would bring me close to 75,000. But if I can average closer to 6000 words per week, that's a lot closer to 90,000 for a first draft -- and that would be much better. But since my current average per week for the first 7 weeks is 4738, I will need to push myself and also take as much time off work as I can. Since my next project at work is supposed to GA in late November, maybe I can take off the whole last week of the month. Then no one is likely to be around in the 11 days between Saturday, Dec. 22 and Wednesday, Jan. 2...
None of that matters. What's important is to do as much as possible, as soon as possible. And I'm finally at the beginning of the group scenes at the lodge. I'll have to write six or seven 6000 word chapters set up there.
Even before really getting into this section -- which is the meat of the book -- I'm wondering how I can shake it up. I mentioned "The Thing" before, a movie that impressed me with the way it kept three steps ahead of the audience by constantly shifting the source of the main conflict. I need to see it again to refresh my memory, since I haven't seen it since it came out in like 1982, but as I remember it, it starts out with these polar researchers vs. the elements and a government or corporate bureaucracy, and then they're fighting what seems like an epidemic, and then it turns out to be some kind of space alien that assumes the shape of whatever it kills, so that at the end there are only two guys left, and neither can prove that he's not the alien and the other is, so they're just sitting in the snow with guns drawn, and that's how the movie ends. I've always admired how the movie keeps the audience guessing, even before you get to the stalemate at the end. So I've been wondering how to shake up the middle of my book.
The bones of the premise are not dissimilar: a group of men marooned in a remote location. Perhaps I could have sort of a set of subplot conflicts running beneath the surface:
Let's see. He's happy -- that's his dominant personality trait. He should be known by the others for this. And it should go beyond the simple fact that he's getting laid by a great girlfriend; he should be happy with everything in his life. It's not that his life is more perfect than anyone else's; it's just the way he feels about things.
The others envy him somewhat. And yet it's also important to them that he be a happy character, the way some long term relationships are important to a group of friends of the couple, friends that would be crushed if the couple broke up.
I dunno, there doesn't seem to be that much there.
I want to go back to the idea that something about the whole gathering bothers him. I can't think what, though.
He didn't really want to come to this thing. Why?
But last night while I was falling asleep I got a halfway good idea for how to do the next chapter, which is chapter 6.
After this weekend, there are 8 weekends before Thanksgiving. If I keep up a pace of 5000 words per week, that's another 40,000 words, which would bring me close to 75,000. But if I can average closer to 6000 words per week, that's a lot closer to 90,000 for a first draft -- and that would be much better. But since my current average per week for the first 7 weeks is 4738, I will need to push myself and also take as much time off work as I can. Since my next project at work is supposed to GA in late November, maybe I can take off the whole last week of the month. Then no one is likely to be around in the 11 days between Saturday, Dec. 22 and Wednesday, Jan. 2...
None of that matters. What's important is to do as much as possible, as soon as possible. And I'm finally at the beginning of the group scenes at the lodge. I'll have to write six or seven 6000 word chapters set up there.
Even before really getting into this section -- which is the meat of the book -- I'm wondering how I can shake it up. I mentioned "The Thing" before, a movie that impressed me with the way it kept three steps ahead of the audience by constantly shifting the source of the main conflict. I need to see it again to refresh my memory, since I haven't seen it since it came out in like 1982, but as I remember it, it starts out with these polar researchers vs. the elements and a government or corporate bureaucracy, and then they're fighting what seems like an epidemic, and then it turns out to be some kind of space alien that assumes the shape of whatever it kills, so that at the end there are only two guys left, and neither can prove that he's not the alien and the other is, so they're just sitting in the snow with guns drawn, and that's how the movie ends. I've always admired how the movie keeps the audience guessing, even before you get to the stalemate at the end. So I've been wondering how to shake up the middle of my book.
The bones of the premise are not dissimilar: a group of men marooned in a remote location. Perhaps I could have sort of a set of subplot conflicts running beneath the surface:
- Seth vs. the wilderness
- Shaun tries to subvert the dominant paradigm, but Denny is more of a natural trickster; he can't compete with Denny if Denny decides to do something subversive
- Greg constantly competing with Bart. So is Seth, in different ways.
- Hap feels that Bart is somehow too soulless, focusing only on technical problems -- that Bart's main motivation is to seek an outlet for his expertise and skills, regardless of the social or political implications which Hap would like him to consider
- Don wants Denny's and Greg's money. Greg has little resistance, but Denny the trickster initially sets up a competing venture.
Let's see. He's happy -- that's his dominant personality trait. He should be known by the others for this. And it should go beyond the simple fact that he's getting laid by a great girlfriend; he should be happy with everything in his life. It's not that his life is more perfect than anyone else's; it's just the way he feels about things.
The others envy him somewhat. And yet it's also important to them that he be a happy character, the way some long term relationships are important to a group of friends of the couple, friends that would be crushed if the couple broke up.
I dunno, there doesn't seem to be that much there.
I want to go back to the idea that something about the whole gathering bothers him. I can't think what, though.
He didn't really want to come to this thing. Why?
