What makes a story interesting? Tension and conflict. But sometimes all I want is a moment of escape. A moment to dream, to float through the amorphous scape of my inner self without fear or concern. To let the child within run and play.
Last month, I talked about the fact that I’d played too close to the sun, but sometimes we can’t see what is just around the corner until it smacks us in the face. Sometimes things seem dire one moment, and the next, they are perfect, gliding smoothly and flowing like the most natural thing in the world. If I were to romanticize Surrealist, that is what I would say.
Progress
Part of what has helped me to advance with Surrealist is that I went back through and outlined the story to the end. The framework I’ve created allows me to play more, not less. It is also helpful in keeping me from crumbling under the intense pressure of getting this right, because I have support. Support is vital to growth, in terms of scaffolding to bolster my stories and in terms of friends and confidants who help me from spiraling when I know I’m not there yet and everything seems bleak.
I passed the 50k word mark in Surrealist, and things are going both better and worse. One character’s POV is getting progressively easier, and the other is becoming progressively more difficult. They are the inverse of how they started, which likely means I’m doing this narrative correctly, but it is hard to give up the easier point of view being just that.
I drafted 24.4k +, and although I didn’t hit 1k words a day, I made substantial progress and am only 30k words from my goal length for the book. I started off the month strong, but life got in the way at the end of it, decreasing my overall productivity. No matter, I must proceed anyway because, unlike in Surrealist, time moves forward—only.
Leisure
My siblings and I have been watching the show A. P. Bio, which has been interesting thus far. I also went on a bit of a romance movie kick, and what I determined is that romantic attraction (at least in movies) is more a matter of proximity and time than anything else.
As for other leisurely activities, they’ve been rather slim. Such is the way of things when life gets busy, but I intend to make up for such lapses in August.
What I’m Learning
I’m a bit better at character voice than I thought. I do not put much conscious effort into my characters’ voices after they come into existence. This always seemed a flaw; however, a comment one of my writing group members made on Surrealist has made me think differently.
She said that she could tell there was a shift in my character’s voice (and due to the nature of the book, to the character himself as well). This was a huge deal for me, even if she didn’t realize what it meant to me. I worry that my voice is not well defined because I haven’t put much thought into it (I try to think as little as possible in the first draft and just let words pour out of me. Thinking is for revision.) I’ve gotten reassurance that I am doing this right without putting much conscious thought into it, and that is something extraordinary for me to learn.
Looking Forward
There is so much happening in August. My stomach is doing somersaults as we speak because of my anxiety. I could barely finish my lunch, even though I was quite hungry because my stomach wouldn’t allow it.
I have three trips planned in August. The first is to camp, the second is to Worldcon for the Hugos (which I voted in this month and man, the artists were good!), and my sister’s bachelorette weekend. Suffice it to say, I’m about to be very broke.
As for writing, I will work where I can, but I don’t know if I will even finish Surrealist this month. I am determined to finish it before moving on to the next project, Project C, even though it looms over me larger each passing day, but we might be looking at mid to late September to start that project.
I would love to hit 1k words a day on average, but I think I’ll be lucky if I average 50. Though if I get to the end of the book at the right time, I might be able to swing it. For Mushroom Dragon, I am around the last 10-12k in one day, so anything is possible. I am planning to take my laptop on my travels with me, but I’m also trying to rest a little bit, so work will be sporadic at best.
Surrealist remains a wonderful story that I cannot wait to refine. I think I am actually looking forward to the revision process on this one. At the moment, it feels as though I am creating a giant block of malformed rock from nothing, and my chisels are itching my belt to start breaking away that which does not suit it. Even still, I am starting to see my vision come together even in the malformation.
I am excited about all my plans in August, but I am worried that I will stress myself out by not writing. It is such a staple in my life, such a constant that should I lose it, lose my momentum and my driving force, I might not fare well. But all the things I am doing next month are important and exciting. I just might not be writing as much, then again, maybe I’ll surprise myself. I’ve done it before, and I’m sure I’ll do it again.
Naomi
