Category: creative writing

“Oh my God! We’re Supposed to Start a War!”

Said Prince John to his brothers and Queen Eleanor, around 1185 in Chinon Castle.

I feel the same way.  From my last post, I knew I’d seen enough to move things forward; not all in one day:  my notes point toward about 11k words of story.  But, time to get going!

So why do I have Teresa kissing Nichole outside the Miller Library?  WTF does this have to do with the Cannibal Army storming the Lewis & Clark Bridge?  Where’s the killing?  Where’s the nerve gas?  SRSLY?

If nothing else, I’ve SEEN when the breathless messenger comes rushing into the room where N and the Mayor are having their very guarded conversation, announcing the loss of the bridge to the Enemy.  That’ll get things rolling!  N has some funny, but pointed, things to say about how/why Japan lost the Pacific War, starting with Guadalcanal, and how that impacts His Honor’s response.

Bleeding Jesus, but I need an Editor!

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“When in doubt…

…start blowing stuff up.”  I realized Wednesday, after a small psychotic incident (when you wake up wondering if you’ve had a stroke, the rest of your day will not unfold well), that cutting myself off from creative works was turning into a very bad idea.  After scaring the hell out of my boss with my borderline behavior, I excused myself at 1300 and went home to stare off my deck into my backyard.

After an hour of that, I got a notepad & pen and began.  Nothing detailed, just trying to SEE.  Made about a page and a half while my aggregates slowly coalesced into normalcy.  In downtime on Friday, did some checking and realized the nuke plant NNW of Portland, from my childhood memory, was out:  the progs have obliterated all trace of it.  But, there is a bridge, about a mile north… about 3/4 page of notes.

Today, half of #fam was at swim meet, so more waiting to SEE.  Finally got it:  a wrap to the Cannibal Army from Act I, as well as exposition of local politics, more friend Mackenzie, and how Joe actually falls for Nichole.  Literally:  from an exploding bridge blanketed by nerve gas.

No story below the fold, but I did want to share my notes; they’re 1;4 and 2;3 in the pics, so don’t get confused.  I’ve made a gallon of my super-concentrated tea for tomorrow and am going to bed early.  Hoping for much friendship, politics, and mayhem, tomorrow!

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Where away?

For Act 2.5 of Defiant, I’ve dealt a little with Mackenzie and now with Teresa.  They both have more to say, and I was planning on wrapping everything up about (two, three?) months hence with Joe’s diagnosis, say, two months before Nichole & Gil play out Act 3.

But… it seems too episodic:  here’s side character #1, here’s side character #2….  That may work in a seasonal show, but not so much in a novel.

I need a theme for this arc, and I’ve got nothing. I thought it might be family & loss (suggestive of a book title) what with Mac’s dead brother and Teresa’s missing, presumed dead, mother (and I know some of Nichole’s siblings were ‘failures’).  I might even find out more about Gil and Joe.  I did have one of them say or think, “everyone has lost someone in the Breakup.”

Episodic’s fine for blog posts; not a coherent novel.  I guess this is one of those retro times when I wish I had a traditional editor to tell me to get my shit together!  I am not writing one more word until I understand what they want me to say.

***

Suggestions welcome.

An Immodest Proposal

When I began writing what I’d seen, the last little section about what Nichole just proposed to Teresa was nowhere there.  Princess?  Really?  I’m worried that if I follow that, it would turn Defiant into an 120,000 word book.  Perhaps I should consider making yet another MachCiv novel?  Sheesh.  Coming home from the food store today, I was thinking of taking a break from it all and turning the script of a proposed graphic novel – an over-the-top rated X graphic novel – into a little writing exercise.  You know:  just how Pirate Twins was an 5000 word writing exercise… at over 20k…

Anyway, following on Nichole’s and Teresa’s meeting at the PSU Miller Library, they start talking.

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Work-Vet-Library

There’s much more I’ve seen that what opens below the fold, but having left work at 1730 to go home and change and get the right credit card, followed by a drive to Columbus to get sick Dog #1, back home, dinner (thanks to Daughter #1 for making curry!), a brief discussion of racial socio-economics with my girls – red-pilling them, in other words – I finally sit down at my laptop…

God, I’m tired.  The rest of the cat-and-mouse conversation between Nichole and Teresa soon; tomorrow, I hope.  It’s fun.

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Walkies

It always make my dogs feel better.  Me, too.

A long, dry spell of not-writing.  Day Job has blown and several family issues.  Getting back on track.  This was a productive weekend, even if I’m another US$3000 in the hole.

“Defiant” – VERY likely under another name, my free webnovel, shall be published by Christmas.  Read about how I’m completing it, below the fold.

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Heading back Down in the Park

With Pirate Twins, my 4000, er, 17,000 word writing exercise complete, I am now returning to my free webnovel, Defiant, to flesh it out into a proper novel.

. . .

I had nothing.  For about two days.  As usual, at Mass this evening, reflecting on the Gospel reading from Mathew (so you know ‘gnashing of teeth’ will be involved…) about forgiveness.  I don’t know why, but I was led to think about the last paragraph of Act II, when Mackenzie accidently finds out what Nichole is.

In an instant,  I ‘saw’ their conversation and reconciliation.  Later that morning, they stand along the west bank of the Willamette River, watching the slow departure of HMIJS Kongo.  That’s 3k words, right there.  I was going to roll that over into going to class later that day or the next morning, but instead realized, with a smile, they’d be stopping in a Zom’s for a parfait or something.  Add a heaping of Nike and there’s 2k more words.

It’s only when I try do I eff everything up.  Shut up, Clayton, and write down what they show you….

Free, Naked, Editing

Ryan Lanz is running a contest for some free editing; enough for short story.  Just wanted to pass it along to my fellow creators.

Aside:  about 5k words into Defiant Part 2.5.  Was stuck all this week, after Nichole’s & Mackenzie’s reconciliation, then saw Nichole and Teresa having a long conversation about coding (at school), and later, her father and the effects of the Breakup in Portland (at Zom’s).  They’re joined by Gil and Joe, and this segues into the one-off I did a few months ago where these four playing in the pool – largely naked – and Nichole accidently diagnoses Joe’s lymphoma.  Rock and roll.

Pirate Twins, coda

This not the short I originally saw.  After last night’s tragic news, I wanted to a little more about the West’s current attempt at suicide.  But, there’s still hope.  Hope, much like Evil, can often be found in the most unlikely places.

Thanks, everyone, for reading this story.  I think I’ll try to make ‘Defiant’ into a proper novel, but I’m taking the rest of this weekend off.

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