Woke Up Drunk

 Rewrote the first 150 words 8 times so far.  Getting ready to send it to an agent.  Asked a contact of mine if she knew of any agents I could send something to tonight.

Now we wait.

And edit.

        

Personal

I haven't been able to write lately.  It's not writer's block.  I can think of plenty of things to write about.  I just don't feel like putting the effort into it lately.  I've lost all motivation.  I'm going to go to sleep now.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Started Chapter 13 today.  I can't motivate myself to work on Chapter Guides anymore.

Changes

Realized today how I can make the first chapter less cliche.
Made a major change to a character who appears much later in the story.


IRL

Rumors continuing to circulate regarding my department being obliterated, run out, laid off, useless...  I want to kick the FullBrights in the head.

Things I have read about this morning instead of working on my novel:
- Decompression Illness (ie: the bends)
- Spotted hyenas
- Breast Cancer (and inflammatory breast cancer)
- Champagne bubbles
- Giraffes
- Siberian huskies
- Akita Inu
- The ingredients in Raid

Goals for this week (7 day period):
- Clear my throat and sniff less
- Stop licking my fingers to clean them
- Clean Brandon's bathtub (and possibly my own while I'm at it)
- Do laundry

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finally finished Segment 1 - the first 12 chapters - on either Tuesday or Wednesday of last week... and then I got lazy and have only written two pages since then.

I also had a crazy dream about what Chapter 14 would be about (because I've been thinking of re-doing that part)... Cody robs a bank.  o.O    Obviously not happening.


Musings

This is a non-writing related musing.
We got to talking about abortion and being pro-life/pro-choice the other day.  I was thinking that while, in my opinion, there has to be something wrong with you to want to kill your own child, making it illegal won't solve anything.
People will still find a way to use a wire hanger or set up secret, make-shift abortion clinics in their homes.  This will cause more problems for the products of failed abortions and of course health problems for the mother. 
What's even worse is the idea to pass a law that you can't get an abortion except in cases of rape.  I don't think this is a good idea for a number of reasons:
- It's contradictory to the pro-life concept of the fetus deserves a chance to live.  Saying that abortion is wrong except in the case of rape is like saying - all children deserve the chance to live except those whose fathers were rapists.  Either give women the right to decide whether they will endure pregnancy OR give the fetus a chance to live, one or the other.
- There are women out there who will claim rape just so that they can legally abort the child.  This is not only bad for a father who did not rape the mother as he will now be wrongly accused of it, but also for women who really were raped.  A rape trial is hard enough, with our court systems being geared toward the defendant, not towards the plaintiff, with the woman who was raped having her entire sexual history, motives, etc questioned in front of a jury, and with the defense's job being to make it look like she is lying - if you add the fact that she *could* be lying to get an abortion, that just makes it even harder for actual rape victims to come forward and seek justice.
If the laws are pro-choice in general then we won't have these fake rape accusations or defense attorneys claiming that rape victims are faking it to get an abortion. 
There's also the fact that some women are simply in a desperate situation - there could be countless scenerios where the mother is just not in a place where she should be bringing a child into this world, such as if she is mentally ill and may abuse the child or kill it after it's born.


IRL

Spent the last week in Tucson hanging with my old high school friends. 
On Sunday night, I went to IHOP with Helena, Ashley and Hayli.  I had an omelette.  Deliciousness.
Monday through Wednesday, I spent most my time at Helena and Jeremy's place, running errands here and there with Ashley and Helena.
We found an abandoned building!  We went to look for this cake supply place, and found a building that was just sitting there all boarded up, except the door was open!  There were children's desks, books, a ping pong table, a refrigerator, lockers, flourescent letters, traffic cones, a child's play kitchen, headsets, a TV, anti-tobacco educational materials, office chairs, water coolers, and all sorts of signs.
Thursday night, we had a sleepover at Ashley's - watched Charlie Bartlett (good) and TransSiberian (not so good).  We also hung out with Hayli for a bit.
Friday I went and saw my old friend Jackie and picked Brandon up from the airport!  We picked up some drinks then went to Ashley's party.  Elise was there which was very exciting.  Brandon got drunk and was actually talking quite a bit.  :D   Helena and I sword fought with styrofoam swords.  Helena also made me a s'more because I couldn't figure out how to do it.  Brandon and I tried to stay the night but Ashley's brother was too obnoxious to let us sleep so we went back to Liz's house (where I was staying).
On Saturday, Brandon and I met Helena and Ashley for bagels, then went to the mall to get him a new phone, and then went to Main Street with Jeremy, Gabe, Helena and Tyler.  We played pool and I think I got one ball in the whole time.  BUT, after that, we played fusball.  The first two games, me and Jeremy whooped Brandon and Tyler's asses and the third game it was just Brandon and me.  I whooped his ass and took his balls.  :P
Then we went to IHOP which was the first time I went to a restaurant with a 'big party' that wasn't my family. 
Sunday was my last day there.  Brandon and I met Helena and Jeremy for bagels and hung out for a couple hours until we had to head to the airport.
The plane was supposed to leave at 4:00, but when we got there, it said it was delayed until 4:15... then 4:24... then 4:45... they kept pushing back the time by 10 minute intervals until 6:00.  Brandon had 3 beers while we were waiting.  I tried tequilla which didn't turn out to be any good.  At least I know what not to order next time.
We missed our connecting flight because it left Phoenix before we left Tucson.  Brandon got us  tickets for the next flight to SLC and got some drinks while we were waiting.  I had a Bloody Mary (good) and Brandon had another beer.  We didn't get home until midnight.
When I woke up this morning, I thought I was still in Tucson and then had to realize that I wasn't.  Sad.  :(
The end.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 8.  I was supposed to be done with Segment 1 (12 chapters) yesterday.  :(

Musings

There are three basic parts to writing a good story (not all are necessary for a novel to sell, however):

- Interesting and original story-line
- Full-bodied characters
- Beautiful writing


Beautiful Writing
If you've ever been to a writing workshop, you'll notice that they critique the hell out of the way you wrote the story.  They'll move words around, replace sentences and educate you on "style."  80% of all the critiques I've ever received from a workshop or from other writers was simply on how I used my words and structured my sentences - rarely on the storyline itself.
If you want to be held in high regard among your fellow writers, this is the most important part of your work.  However, the average reader couldn't care less about your pretty words or well-phrased sentence.  If you look at any of the Phineas Poe books by Will Christopher Baer, you'll find that the writing is perfect and imperfect, it's mesmerizing, a work of genius - holy, even.  But the Phineas Poe series is far from a best seller, it is known primarily by other writers - who worship every single word.  While writers, particularly literary or film noire writers, always keep a copy with them as if it were a bible, most normal people have never heard of it.


Full-Bodied Characters
The best way to get loyal readers is through characters that are larger than life, yet human and understandable.  If you have a character that your reader falls in love with, they will follow him anywhere.  They will watch him as he saves the world from absolute destruction, or while he's making breakfast.  A good character is a character that is captivating no matter what he does.
Most writers focus on ways to describe their characters.
An amateur writer who can tell a half decent story can describe their characters' hair, eyes, weight and favorite color.
A good writer will give their characters a past, fears, and imperfections.
An expert writer has difficulty describing their character - the way they would with a good friend.  They simple know their characters, they get into their skin and understand the way they tick, the way they think and let the imperfections, fears, weight and eye color come to them as the character reveals himself to the writer.


Interesting and Original Story-Line
The main difference between literary fiction and main-stream (or genre fiction) is that while literary fiction is character-driven and focuses primarily on the first two characteristics of a good story, main-stream fiction features really great plots.
Most writers consider Dan Brown's writing style horrific, plain and sloppy - but his story is epic.  40 million copies of the DaVinci Code have been sold worldwide.
Star Wars has flat, even irritating characters and cheesy, cliche dialogue, but it is easily the most popular series ever created - because the story line is, again, epic.
Creating a good story line is nearly impossible to teach and so is a pain to writing teachers.  How do you teach someone to be original?  How do you teach plot twists?



The number of successful, professional writers is pitifully small, even among the best, but the main-stream writer is, sadly far advantaged when it comes to sales.  A literary writer can hope to be the most respected among his peers with relatable characters and fancy words, but would be foolish to quit his day job.


And, if you want your books to be read in classrooms as part of the curriculum 30 years from now, none of the above applies, just make sure to include lots of symbolism.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 7.  Two chapters behind for today.

IRL

I've spent the entire day agonizing over whether my mom and step dad's computers will be WoW-ready for when Brandon and I come over.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Chapters 3 and 4 are terrible.  They need to be completely redone.

        

Woke Up Drunk

3 Chapters behind.  :(

IRL

Got hella sick yesterday.  Left work early.  Wasted time watching Bones instead of writing.

Going to my mom's house tonight to show her how to play WoW.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 6.  Two chapters behind.  Need to finish those tonight.

IRL

Boy got his tickets for Tucson yesterday.  :D

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 5, started on Chapter 6.  I'm a chapter behind schedule so far today.  I've been spending too much time trying to revise Chapter 2.
I'm lucky that Chapter 6 is already mostly written because of the Chapter Guides.

Administration

I want a book, or some sort of reference for facial features and ways to describe them, it's incredibly hard to find on the internet.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Started chapter 5.  I'm half a chapter behind today.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 4.  I'm on schedule for today.

IRL

The boys fixed Brandon's car today so that it was less stealable.  I watched and got to sit on Brandon's bike.  It is uber sexy.  I want to ride it.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 3.

IRL

Watching the parking lot in case some jackhole tries to steal from the boy's car again.  Fucking bastards.

        

Deadlines

So, I detailed out when every single chapter needs to be written and came up with new deadlines for when everything should be finished by.  Writing novels takes a long time - especially when factoring in time for holidays, planning, and the like.
Below is the deadline for every segment, as noted by the segment name.


Devils Draw the Carriage

October 28, 2008

All the Pretty Lies

December 12, 2008

Woke Up Drunk

January 11, 2009

Souls Lost at Sea

February 6, 2009

A Million Skies are Blue

February 22, 2009

Bloody Mary

March 8, 2009

Re-edit first 100 pages and write summary/letter to send out to agents

March 16, 2009

ReWrite and FINISH

April 30, 2009

        

Woke Up Drunk

Finished Chapter 2. 


I'm really hungry today for some reason.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Almost done with Chapter 2.  Editted Chapter 1, again.

Changes

The preface is now Chapter 1, making the original chapter 1 Chapter 2 now.

Musings

All this editting reminds me of Jack Kerouac.  He didn't believe in editting.  He believed in putting down what was in your head once and leaving it at that, because that was true.  That was how it really came out of the writer's head.
I think that maybe this is because Kerouac was a poet at heart.  For the poet, it is the writer's thoughts and moods that they are able to convey that is important, because a poem is little more than the poet's well-worded and usually ambiguous diary of moods and musings.
For an author, it is the characters' thoughts and feelings that are important and this is why a writer who is an author at heart edits the hell out of his writing.
"Author," in this case being a writer who writes stories with characters and plots - and poets and authors, of course both being writers.

In any good first-person or limited omniscient POV story, the statements made in the story telling are not necessarily true.  This is because the character's perception of truth is all that matters in the story.  The real truth is irrelevant because you are reading the story as if you are living through that character's mind.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Writing chapter 2 now.


IRL

So, I was reading reviews on my dad's restaurant, Grand Cru, last night and most of the reviews are great - great food, great atmosphere, great wine selection, the owners are "good people," etc.... the main complaint that comes up every once in a while is that the wait staff isn't very good.
Me thinks something needs to be overhauled regarding that.  Needs more team spirit.
At any rate.  One review said that she talked to the owner who was a timid guy.  This woman obviously does not know how to read people.  I wanna go to her house, pound on her door, abruptly yell, "MY DAD IS NOT A TIMID MAN," kick her in the shins and then run away.

        

Deadlines

As stated previously, this story is divided into 7 segments.  I should be done with the first segment by the time I go to Tucson November 2nd.  While I'm in Tucson, I should be able to finish every chapter guide for the rest of the book (so far chapter guides have been 1-2 pages and there's 96 chapters total) by the time I leave Tucson on November 9th.  After that, I estimate it'll take about 4 months to finish the book (keep in mind I have a full time job and a bit of a social life).
So, that puts the final deadline at about February 10th.

That's all for now.

        

Woke Up Drunk

Chapter Guides are long.  They contain the summary of every scene in the chapter, the purpose and length of each scene, quotes, and any other relevant clips of writing.

Example.

I'm writing as many of these as I can today.  They're important for two reasons: 1. they tell me exactly where I'm going with every scene and why, which will make the actual writing go a lot faster.  2. They help iron out plot holes and scenes that are either unnecessary or don't make sense before anything has actually been written.


Changes

The kidnapper is no longer a friend of the Walkker family who turns on them (their personal driver), but is now a stranger who has been watching and following the kids.


IRL

The economy is going crazy.  I don't know if it's better for me to put tons more time and effort into my job and even side jobs and hope that'll be enough to get me through this - just do what I need to do to survive for now and worry about writing later, once everything has settled down again... or if I should focus on my writing, and finish this goddamn book because it's what I've always wanted to do and if shit hits the fan, then money won't matter for much anyways.
The part that keeps me up at night is the fact that my World of Warcraft characters are making more progress than I am.
Is it possible to live in a world where your confidence doesn't rely on some CEO's dumb decisions somewhere distant and intangible from you, but from doing your work - providing a good or a service, and getting paid for it.  Why does it have to be more complicated than that?

        

Woke Up Drunk

Wrote the preface today.  More editing later.  I'm tired of stupid editing.


IRL

Made the layout for my mom's website.
Got the tint off my truck today, thanks to the boy.
Also got a few groceries today and a nifty little laptop table that changes angles.  Comes with a built in light and mouse pad.  Also makes a good foot rest.
Tomorrow: get safety and emissions checked again and work some.
Tuesday:  get my car registered.