Sunday, May 13, 2012

ROW80 Update - May 13

A Round of Words in 80 Days update:

Episode 2 of The Misplaced Hero posted.


Wednesday Day 38 - 130 minutes?  I don't know, I lost track after two hours.  Had a good short session in the morning roughing in Episode 4, which will be difficult.  Then I finally wrestled Episode 2 into submission, and posted it.  I was going to skip doing a new banner, but I had to at least change the text to reflect the episode title, and all I really had to do was put in a ring. And then I had to change the background color to reflect a feeling of night.  And then....  So I did a new banner.

Thursday Day 39 - 75 minutes.  Mostly did some artwork for Monday's episode and also got that episode up on the site and ready for publication.  The artwork was a challenge: the concept of the episode is sort of abstract.  But I realized that there is a reference to Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and I could illustrate the key scene from that book. It's not my best illustration, but it's one I'm particularly pleased with.

Then next Thursday, I just need to come up with a good abstract background for a margarita.  I think the episode is going to give me more trouble than the art.  (But I have a good idea for changing the location, which will more naturally get to the next spot.)

Friday Day 40 - 52 minutes.  Half-way point on the Dare!  I meant to do more today, but I zoned out on some other story ideas for a bit.  Then I found myself zoning out on this one, which is a good thing, mostly. Episode 4 is tricky, and that's the one I'm trying to get ready. I have an earlier version which has some nice lines in it, but I have to cut and rearrange a bit.  (It was the opening of the book, originally, and contained a lot of dialog-exposition about what happened in the first three eps.)

I also wrote a very small bit from Rozinshura's point of view -- something for around Episode 8 or 9, I think.  Rozinshura, I knew, would be fun.  Since he is careful of what he says, though, I didn't realize how much fun his private thoughts were.  (I should have.  It's clear from his understatement what he thinks.)

Saturday Day 41 - 112 minutes. Did some work on the Rozinshura chapter, and thought about how it was going to fit in.  Then I got Episode 4 mostly whipped into shape, it's a little long, but I think it deserves it.

Evolution

I am not using Lily's voice as much as I expected.  She's supposed to be blogging the story, but it's not obvious.  Even when she makes commentary, it blends with the thoughts of the view point character.

I had expected that the whole story would be less formal, and more casual.  She could chat on about things more -- but even here, where I'm doing set up and backstory, the story just pushes forward.  I think the story really is suited for the format.  We'll have to see if Lily's voice is the right way to approach it.  I mean, it's not that it would change much -- she's telling the story in a traditional way.

Funny thing; as I was writing from Rozinshura's point of view, I thought he could be a fun voice to tell this very story. (Might even be fun to do a varying point of view -- where people tell other people's stories rather than their own.  Maybe an exercise outside the story.  Maybe even Roshomon-style.)  I'll talk more about this on Tuesday, when I do an "about the story so far" post.

But first, on Monday, we'll hear about how Alex was lured into thinking, against his will, and failed to flunk.

See you in the funny papers.

6 comments:

Wendy Lu said...

Wow, sounds like you've gotten a lot done in a short amount of time! Kudos to you. I checked out Episode Two and it was a great read. I love how you provided so much information through dialogue instead of just narration or commentary. Makes the whole scene much more active.

~Wendy Lu

The Red Angel Blog

The Daring Novelist said...

Thanks, Wendy!

That particular episode has artificial, truncated dialog (more of a monologue really) but I think that bit of background info needed a scene to it.

Sticking to super short episodes is a challenge though. I think I would have liked to give it more atmosphere, if I were writing in a traditional book.

Eden Mabee said...

So many pieces and parts and little bits, all put together. I love your banner with the ring...it does look a bit like an armadillo, but perhaps that is why I was extra curious about it.

And all the silly things...

Well, it's wonderful, Camille, reading about your progress and the story. Glad the progress is pleasing you too. That's means you'll keep doing it. =)

The Daring Novelist said...

Thanks, Eden.

The ring came out looking more like a shrimp or lobster than anything else, which wasn't intentional, but is probably closer to what it actually is. Sort of.

Jenny Hansen said...

Look at all those sprints you did! it really ends up racking up the word count, doesn't it?

The Daring Novelist said...

In this case, I'm not doing sprints or racking up word count. That's just total accumulated work time.

(And most of the time is spent editing, because I need to keep thee episodes short and concise.)

But yes, writing splurges (as I like to call them) can rack up tremendous word counts.