Another even shorter update. Not a bad day. Some kerfuffle, some socializing.
I wrote drafts of a couple of blog posts I'll use in the fall. Both of these are about mystery writing, and both inspired by issued I'm having with The Man Who Ran Away. I think one of the reasons the stories in that series grow so very s-l-o-w-l-y is because I feel the need to approach it like I read a mystery -- letting the characters explore their story -- and yet I also need to know exactly what they are exploring.
And I finally figured out one of the things I was doing backwards. I need to not pick the victim or killer right off. What I need to do first is send my series character and the front story off on a vacation, and then go set the whole cast of suspects loose on each other until someone kills someone. Then bring back my front story and characters and let them deal with the aftermath -- at which point I can start writing.
In the meantime...
Today's Progress: Continued forward with the write-through on In Flight.
My character is so introverted, that I'm having a hard time not letting her life be an expositional lump. I think I've got the way to deal with it -- she arrives at work and is trying to sneak quietly through the chaos of the prep kitchen. What's happening in the kitchen is an active scene, and gives me more opportunities for little bits of exposition.
Eating, Watching, Reading:
It's Agents of SHIELD day, so we had a picnic of deli fried chicken while watching the show. Good episode, but the capper was the ending moment. (No spoilers.) They show us the value of understatement and character. Coulson is shown something rather shocking, and he responds by saying, flatly; "huh."
The thing that makes this a great moment (and not just a funny, unexpected reaction) is that only a few episodes ago, he was nearing nervous collapse. He and his team have been put through the wringer. The whole world order has been completely turned upside down. And with this episode, he has finished putting all the pieces back together, and he is now the unflappable Coulson again.
Still reading Murder Must Advertise. Mr. Bredon has still not revealed himself as Lord Peter.
See you in the funny papers.
Daring to live life as a full time writer, with or without success.
2 comments:
Great progress! And I like your thoughts on not picking the killer right away.
Good luck with that introverted character!
I meant that differently than it came out. I meant that I need to not choose the VICTIM (and therefore the killer) right off.
I do need to know both before I start writing -- but I can't start with them. They're the end result of the prewriting process, not the beginning.
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