On Writing

Yesterday I had to make a very hard decision and basically scrap all the work I've been doing on my current writing project, The Chronicles of Hendricks. The reason for this is that I realized the set up I had just wasn't working as well as it should, that I was taking far too long to get to the important things like monsters and mad scientists, and that an alternate set-up that I had been mulling over for a while would simply fit the story better.

So, two or three months worth of work go down the drain, and I start over for the...fourth time? I'm not sure at this point.

But no complaints; it was the right thing to do. I'm planning on leaving Hendricks to ferment for a while: I need to work out how the new set-up will work and what other scenes/elements/characters I might need to drop to make it flow. Meanwhile, I'll be taking another crack at Lepus, which also went through a major story-change which, I think, makes the whole thing much more interesting (and gives me more room to spread out and add more story elements).

One thing I'm learning is that no writing is wasted; yes, all the work I did on Hendricks is getting scrapped, but I learned a lot from it. The characters - particularly the heroine - are a lot more developed now and have started taking on their own little quirks and personalities. I have a better sense of where the story is going and how it will unfold than I did, and I also have a better sense of what doesn't work and things I need to avoid going forward.

I'm having a lot of fun so far planning out the next draft of Lepus; hopefully I'll be able to crank it out faster than the previous draft. Stay tuned for more updates!

Day 8: Favorite Day

What was your favorite day this year and why?

I'm taking this to mean 'this past year,' since this year is less than a month old.

I'd say my favorite day was, if I remember correctly, Nov. 10th. In any case, that's the one that springs immediately to mind. The day started out with Mass, after which I met my dear friend AnnMarie and we went to brunch, where we spent a good couple hours talking politics. I don't know about you, but I love talking politics with someone who a). is well informed, b). shares most of my views, and c). is luminously beautiful.

After we parted, I went to the dojo for some semi-one-on-one training with a couple of black belts, where I spent an hour and a half or so working with sais. Then, having had a fine and interesting work out, I went to my parent's house to hang out with my best friend Tim for a few hours.

This day stands out as being both active, but not overwhelming: there was a lot going on, but I enjoyed all of it and I finished up feeling like I had really accomplished something. Of course, I always like hanging out with Tim, and any day I get to see AnnMarie automatically jumps a grade, so combine both of those with Mass, serious-though-not-strenuous intellectual stimulation, and a solid, though not overwhelming workout and what you have is a very good day indeed.

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Blog more often!

Self explanatory.

2. Read the Entire Bible:

I tried this once before and got bogged down in Sirach. So, this year I'm taking another crack at it!

3. Spend less time on the Computer

Slightly at odds with number 1, but I honestly waste far too much time on the computer and I'd like to change that: read, write, exercise, draw, play violin, and just do all the many non-computer-required things there are to do.

4. Develop a Writing Routine

I've made some progress with this, but there's definite room for improvement.

5. Become Conversational in Italian

Yeah, I need to step up the language studies a lot.

6. [REDACTED]

A private one; I'll let you know if I actually accomplish it.