throw another bear in the canoe

chancewrites on epiracy and ebooks, further to the discussion.

Progress notes for 21 May 2005:

Whiskey & Water


New Words: 2,372
Total Words: 86,520 / 96,750
Pages: 387

96,750 / 160,000 (60.0%)

Reason for stopping: supposed to be having dinner with friends. Also, tired the heck out.
Mammalian Assistance: none
Stimulants: seltzer
Exercise: none. I am still struggling with exhaustion. I think it's a bug.
Mail: nomail
Today's words Word don't know: kitted, crinkly
Tyop du jour: gilt trip (or) no writing souls nor demons with pitchforks. Yeah, some days, that's about how it seems.
Darling du jour: n/a
Books in progress, but not at all quickly: Neal Stephenson, Quicksilver
Interesting research tidbits of the day: n/a
Other writing-related work: n/a

This is the first book I've written where I haven't had, in some manner, more or less instant feedback on it as it was written. It's a bit odd, because I can't tell whether stuff is coming across to people, and I find myself going--as just now--"Do I need to show this character's decision to make a given step? Or can I just show her taking the action?" And I'm not sure. I'm not sure it's maintaining tension, either, because there's so very much going on, and the omniscient voice is a bit distancing. It makes the book much more about the story than about any particular character. Which is an unusual thing for me to cope with, because I am usually a very immersive, character-driven writer, and this all feels a little... thin as I'm writing it.

And of course It's different for me not to be working while in a dialogue with the usual crew, because I know their reactions and so on. Of course, it's not like I have time to beta-read either, currently. It just feels a bit like having the training wheels off.

On the other hand, I like the book, and I'm enjoying writing it. I just hope I'm doing it justice.

And wow, gosh, I'm tired.