CKL's Pointer Maths

I wrote ~750 words today (Friday), but I'm not counting it toward my write-a-thon goal, because I didn't do any of that work on the novel. I was inspired to write a short comedy piece featuring The Richter Scales (my former singing group), and that's what I did--in screenplay format, using the Google Docs template. So at least I learned about that.

Otherwise, our Friday writing group went through a whole pile of critiques, which was good. It's highly educational to see what others are doing right and wrong, and to recognize those things in my own writing. It's all about critical thinking, kids.

Read "Zombies vs. Aliens" at 512 Words or Fewer

New Words: 1,504 (good, not great)
Current Total: 11,833 words
Goal: 46,144 words by July 31st



Breakdown: +512 (credited) for this week's 512 Words; +992 on the novel.

This afternoon, I decided that I've been worrying too much about making all the novel rewrite pieces perfectly sensible and seamless with the first draft. I experienced this particular epiphany while editing this week's 512 audio; I had to re-record a sentence from the middle of the story to remove an egregious fricative noise, and I was briefly concerned that the new chunk sounded different than the others. But after I pieced everything together and trimmed the silences, even I had trouble telling where the join was.

So, no more hand-wringing over the stitching at the seams. For the next three weeks, it's all about word count, expanding subplots, building tension, and adding conflict. Also, time to change the silly names I gave some of my minor characters.

New Words: 517 (sigh)
Current Total: 10,329 words
Goal: 46,144 words by July 31st



Current excuse: D and I were traveling. We took a little trip up to Seattle last night, to see my VPXII instructor Elizabeth Bear's reading at University Bookstore, then had dinner with Bear and Nancy Kress and other lovely folks associated with Clarion West. I also got the chance to catch up with Dave, one of my Sitcom Room 3 cronies.

We spent the night in Bellevue, and today (Wednesday), before the drive home, had lunch with our friend Sonya, who recently started a Ph.D. program in Pharmacology at UW. Our weekly "remote game night" was a bit of a bust, since Chris and Karl were both extra-tired from their own travels over the Independence Day weekend, but we chatted for a little while about the upcoming DASH.

The good news is, I think I've got this week's 512 Words mostly nailed down. And, oh yeah, we had dinner with Elizabeth Bear and Nancy Kress. (As D said: "I tried to hide it, but I was full of squee.")

Tomorrow: 70,000 mile service for the little Prius that could, takin' care of business at WaMu Chase, then work work work. I have several stories to critique for our Friday writing group, and thousands of words to write before I sleep.

New Words: 164 (bleah)
Current Total: 9,812 words
Goal: 46,144 words by July 31st



Today (Monday), we were rudely awakened at 8:30 AM by the house cleaners (who weren't supposed to arrive until noon--GRR), and that threw the whole day off-kilter. We took a nap after the cleaners left, and didn't wake up again until almost 3:00 PM. Hooray for being able to set our own schedules.

On the bright side, I watched the last two episodes of Life on Mars (the BBC original, not the crappy American knockoff), and they were absolutely brilliant. All 16 episodes are being released on DVD in the US this summer, and they belong at the top of your Netflix queue.

Google News. It's customizable!

As of July 4th, four sponsors have donated a total of $216.66, which already exceeds my stated fundraising goal. Thanks!

I especially appreciate the two people who donated an amount of the form $2ⁿ. And to the joker who donated $6.66: Very funny. (He knows who he is.)

It was nothing like this week's story or the earlier one with a similar title.

Read "Art Attack 2" at 512 Words or Fewer

Stay inside where there's air conditioning. SRSLY

New Words: 2,391 (hoo-wah)
Current Total: 9,648 words
Goal: 46,144 words by July 31st (revised upward)



Breakdown: +512 on this week's 512 Words (effort estimate), +1,879 on the novel (actual). Apparently I focus better when I'm sitting at the kitchen table with headphones on. Other factors may also have contributed; I'll keep experimenting.

NOTE: I upped my target word count because I'm counting every week's flash fiction as at least 1,024 words, including the first draft.

New Words: 890 (blah)
Current Total: 7,257 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



Breakdown: +140 on this week's 512 Words; +750 on the novel, and that one scene took way too long to write. I'm finding that I write much more efficiently at night, after I've had the whole day to mull over my current project(s). I am not a morning person, and it's pretty rare that I wake up with some dream-fueled epiphany that must be immediately recorded.

Tomorrow: finishing and recording the 512, then more fun with Kangaroo and company.

New Words: 931 (meh)
Current Total: 6,367 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



Breakdown: +390 on this week's 512 Words; +541 on the novel. Not bad, considering I spent most of tonight at CloudCampPDX.

New Words: 8 (laughable)
Current Total: 5,436 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



Yeah, I know. I'm a lazy bastard. I'll get back on the horse tomorrow. (Or, technically, later today, since it's after midnight already.)

Saw Monsters vs. Aliens at our local second-run theatre, then Happy-Go-Lucky on DVD at home. That was an interesting contrast in storytelling styles.

I'm pretty sure Jasper does. I'm not sure about Bayla.

New Words: 0
Current Total: 5,428 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



For the record: We slept in, took our house guests to Kennedy School for lunch, then moseyed into downtown for a stroll through Skidmore Market and a stop at Voodoo Doughnut. Then back home for coffee and doughnuts, a game of Last Night on Earth, dinner (pasta with homemade meatballs), and general hanging out and chatting.

New Words: 346 on the novel
Current Total: 5,428 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



Got about half an hour of writing done Saturday evening, after taking our house guests to:

1. breakfast at Cadillac Cafe;
2. a few hours of browsing and shopping at Powell's City of Books;
3. a stop at Cupcake Jones; and
4. drinks at McMenamins on the Columbia

...before coming home and hanging out for the rest of the evening.* It was a very good day, despite the lack of writing.

* Come visit us in Portland, and you can expect much of the same!

New Words: 478 on the novel
Current Total: 5,082 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



D and I met our new weekly writing group on Friday afternoon, but spent most of the time on critiques. Our friends Kathy and Brian are visiting this weekend, and we're going to show them around Portland, so I probably won't get too much more done over the next two days.

Read "Defeated" at 512 Words or Fewer

New Words: 1,458
Current Total: 4,604 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



Breakdown: +512 on this week's 512 Words (duh), +946 on the novel. I'm counting the entire final draft of the flash fiction because it is a complete draft, and, including the audio recording, adds up to more time and effort than indicated by word count alone.

New Words: 1,328 (better)
Current Total: 3,146 words
Goal: 43,072 words by July 31st



Breakdown: +593 on this week's 512 Words, +735 on the novel. Yes, I know the former puts me over the limit on the flash fiction, but I'll edit later. And no, I don't think it's wrong to include wordcount that I know will be cut later. This is how the sausage gets made. You need to generate the pork before you can stuff it into the... never mind, this is a really bad analogy. Suffice to say that every word written, even if removed later, contributes to the quality of the finished piece. Trust me, I'm a dentist.