Shorts and Sandals

Now I know the weather is real because Jon Stewart's talking about it. Cold weather doesn't really exist unless it's in Manhattan, I see.

Anyway here, for the second time in as many days, I can wear shorts, with shoes and shirt optional.

I awoke in a great mood, rapidly replaced by misery when the market opened. Oh, sure, I could get a real job, but I may consider horse racing, instead. There's a million ways for me to lose money, and I've barely scratched the surface. I just want to survive. I've admitted I've lost the game of life, so I'm unsure what else I need to do. I won't end up with a big, beautiful house, I won't be able to pursue my dreams, and I won't influence this world in the slightest. Now, can I just survive? Please?

I've got my Wiki working, a little, and have moved my excellent opinions on writing there. Links from the all new, all colorful, writing page take you there. I think. It's sad how much time I can waste on these things.

It's equally sad that I paint myself into corners, just to watch myself suffer. I don't feel particularly masochistic, but I act that way. The good news is, when all esle fails, I can pound out fiction. More about that in the "more" section.


The re-write of TRE is proceeding, and I'm moderately encouraged. I've taken the advice of many and am just saying "dash it all" and plunging ahead. Yes, I'm distinctly aware of the voice I'm using and am, no doubt, breaking some rules and creating something not as good as it could or should be, but I think I'm avoiding petty, obvious, mistakes.

I'm encouraged by how much condensing I'm doing. I'm not sure if this is dangerous or not. I know the story rather intimately, so much that's on the page bores me and is being stricken. I'm unsure if "flavor" is being removed or not. It's much easier to re-write than to write, and enjoyable in other ways. Now that I know the story and what I want to say, I can just axe all that superfluous stuff.

One of the more heartening compliments I've received had to do with pacing. I have this notion that the tighter I make my writing, the quicker I get past atmosphere and into action, the better the story is. I'm not sure if that's true, but any time I can reduce three pages to two or two and a half I think I'm onto something.

The basic story, the arc (if you like that term), is staying the same.

I was reading last night in Fiction Writer's Workshop by Josip Novakovich something about tone and language. His point was along the lines that first person requires a consistent tone throughout, since it's all from the narrator's POV and should reflect his or her world view. To carry that off, the character needs to be engaging or the reader will find a more interesting book. In third, you can have a bit more freedom, and the character's and narrator's voice can both come into play. This is the sort of thing I recognize when I read it, and then promptly forget when I'm writing. I can see how it's true, and also how there's much more to this "craft" stuff than meets my eye.

I do think I write well, or can. I also think I've plenty of company on that boat. Tons of it.