new moon, new start
It's a new moon. When I noticed that, I thought that it's an auspicious time to resume creative work--writing--just as it is supposed to be an auspicious time to plant a garden. Good. So today was another step toward getting back to daily writing.
It went well. I did my morning notes (From Eden to Exile, The Grail Legend), and in due course moved on to my opus. Again I determined to write fast (for me). I copied a swath of notes and pasted it right into my draft chapter, so I wouldn't have to switch between documents. I would scroll down to the notes to see what I was supposed to do next, then scroll back up and keep typing.
I have too many notes. I can't fit all that material in. Probably much of what I do fit in I will have to delete eventually. So be it. Part of acquiring the quality I call richness is a matter of having the prose feel that it has been compressed. Like life, there is vastly more to choose from than what the writer can say. It should feel like details have been selected from a large number of options. The flatness of much fiction writing arises from the sense that the writer just barely knew enough to put the words on the page, and does not know much more about the world of the story. The words then (I find) lose their evocative power.
Quickly I made 4 pages, but then, to my own surprise, ran out of steam. It was about 11:00 and I just didn't feel like doing more. Fine, I won't push it today, I thought. Be happy. I was just a few lines short of making 5 pages, which is a good solid day by my standards.
And how am I coming with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency? I'm up through chapter 5, and still enjoying it: page 73 of 235, so about 1/3 through. So far there is still no one case that forms the story--it's still Mma Ramotswe establishing her business and wondering whether it will succeed. But this too is a valid story question, and I'm happy with the amount of tension pulling me through. It's a relatively gentle pull, but that's ok--it's a gentle world, with interesting, unexpected characters. If I were writing it, I'd be looking to put a bit more traction in the story, to make a bit more urgent.
It's sunny, it's hot.
It went well. I did my morning notes (From Eden to Exile, The Grail Legend), and in due course moved on to my opus. Again I determined to write fast (for me). I copied a swath of notes and pasted it right into my draft chapter, so I wouldn't have to switch between documents. I would scroll down to the notes to see what I was supposed to do next, then scroll back up and keep typing.
I have too many notes. I can't fit all that material in. Probably much of what I do fit in I will have to delete eventually. So be it. Part of acquiring the quality I call richness is a matter of having the prose feel that it has been compressed. Like life, there is vastly more to choose from than what the writer can say. It should feel like details have been selected from a large number of options. The flatness of much fiction writing arises from the sense that the writer just barely knew enough to put the words on the page, and does not know much more about the world of the story. The words then (I find) lose their evocative power.
Quickly I made 4 pages, but then, to my own surprise, ran out of steam. It was about 11:00 and I just didn't feel like doing more. Fine, I won't push it today, I thought. Be happy. I was just a few lines short of making 5 pages, which is a good solid day by my standards.
And how am I coming with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency? I'm up through chapter 5, and still enjoying it: page 73 of 235, so about 1/3 through. So far there is still no one case that forms the story--it's still Mma Ramotswe establishing her business and wondering whether it will succeed. But this too is a valid story question, and I'm happy with the amount of tension pulling me through. It's a relatively gentle pull, but that's ok--it's a gentle world, with interesting, unexpected characters. If I were writing it, I'd be looking to put a bit more traction in the story, to make a bit more urgent.
It's sunny, it's hot.
posted by paulv at
3:51 PM
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