between the rock and the cold, cold sea

Progress, Saturday 16 February, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

New words: 560
Total words: 10,700

Reasons for stopping: sleep
Darling du jour: I have been infected by academic prose. *stabs it*

Tyop du jour: warn for worn
Words Word doesn't know: N/A
Mean things: Possible Sinister Figure from the protag's Dark Past. (No, I can't ever take this seriously.)

That scene'll definitely need to be rewritten at some point. But next, at least, I get to write the barfight. That ought to be slightly more fun.

An hour's work today has given me a respectable -- somewhat -- damnable presentation.

(Scholars tend to agree that Isaiah 11:6-9 is probably a Deuteronomistic addition to the text. I have stated this is several different ways, and made stuff up about kingship, Ahaz and Isaiah, in the case that it is an Isaianic original oracle.)

I have also written.


Progress, Tuesday 15 January, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

New words: 560
Total words: 6,020

Reasons for stopping: college
Darling du jour: Not today.

Tyop du jour: N/A
Words Word doesn't know: N/A
Mean things: uncomfortable witnesses, interfering politicians.


I'm not entirely sure the scene I wrote today justifies its existence in the narrative. But perhaps thirty or fifty or eighty thousand words down the line hindsight will surprise and reward me.

Or, you know, I'll take it out in the second draft.


I was thinking about my process today. I get maybe three hundred words down in an hour when I concentrate, less if I'm being fussy. That's not slow, though I'd like, you know, to be a faster (and better) writer. I don't usually have more than an hour to devote to writing, so those three hundred need to be the right words, or at least not the wrong ones. I can't say, It's a first draft: fix it later. Because I don't want to waste what little time I have.

I look forward to seeing how this works out when I finish this and go back to revise it.

---

Climbed. Sent one route -- the easiest one, of course -- and fell off two more. My upper arms do not like me right now.

But I wandered up to the outdoorsy shop up off Grafton St., and asked a very nice lad to set aside a harness, carabiner, and belay device for me, so I'll pick that up tomorrow. Then I won't have to pay for equipment rental anymore, and possibly I'll get to do some more climbing. (Twice or three times a week, maybe. If I can find someone to climb with regularly.)

Tomorrow, at least, I have no physical exercise -- beyond running for the train -- scheduled. So I need to do some printing, and get a good start on this next essay, and write up that review I owe the SR. And get the application form for Schols. And figure out a budget, and maybe have myself an evening of curled-up introvertedness. (But probably not, since I have quite a bit to get done.)

Expect to see less of me until March. Much less of me. (I'm typing this on the train, since by the time I get home, I'll have the energy to post this, eat, conduct the most necessary of necessary emailings, and then fall over. Thud. Like that.) There is so much in my life that is just not getting done lately.

(I should see how much more of my society responsibilities I can push off onto the rest of the committee. Because stress, it does not agree with me. And I refuse to repeat 2006. Ever. Again.)

Tired now.

I have a damnable presentation due Thursday. Isaiah 11:6-9, social and historical location thereof. Tomorrow, I have a date with the library in all its glory, and I'm not coming home until it's all-but-done.

Damnit.


Progress, Monday 14 January, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

New words: 730
Total words: 5, 460

Reasons for stopping: college work
Darling du jour: He swallowed, pride like thorns in his throat.

Tyop du jour: N/A
Words Word doesn't know: N/A
Mean things: noon, interfering politicians.

---

Gymmed this morning. Barely a twelve-minute mile, bah. On the other hand, not bad for someone who, in the end, achieved perhaps three complete hours of sleep last night.

Good things: government gave me monies (earlier than expected, woo!). Still not dead. Family worries slowly subsiding.

Undone things: plane tickets need alterations. Doctors' appointments, arranging thereof. Accomodation for Calgary. Reading stuff for people.

...Must get climbing kit with nice monies. That would save money in the long run.

Going to fall over now.

The stars did not smile on my gymming today. And oversleeping means I caught the busy train, and so had to sit on a baggage rack all the way to town.

Though I suppose I should be grateful the baggage rack meant I didn't have to stand. :P

---

Progress, Wednesday 9 January, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

New words: 440
Total words: 4, 730

Reasons for stopping: tired now
Darling du jour: nothing worth the name

Tyop du jour: N/A
Words Word doesn't know: sweatily, beringed
Mean things: out doing investigative work in the hottest part of the day

Words since last Wednesday: 2,730.
I am two whole days' worth of words ahead of my weekly quota.

And in the list of good things that occasionally happen to undeserving people, I got my hands on really reasonable complete collections of the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes, and "Sapphire and Steel". Pity I won't be able to have a marathon anytime soon, no? :P

---

College work today: not so much. Lectures, some Greek. Early start tomorrow. I should go pack now.

eeee! Shadow Unit is live! Eeee!

Um. Not that you didn't already know that, right?

---

Progress, Tuesday 8 January, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

New words: 260
Total words: 4, 290

Reasons for stopping: college.
Darling du jour: The courier pouch itched like an accusation inside her shirt, and she shifted against the urge to scratch.

Not great, but it'll do.

Tyop du jour: N/A
Mean things: secrets


An average of 300 words/day is 2.1 K words/week. Which works out to 54K words by end of June.

Looks like I'm still on track for my 2008 goals.

---

I completed the damn essay. Yes. It is done. (Next, please.) And we hates it, precious, yes we does. ladyasilran, you still want to torture yourself by reading it?

And then I celebrated by falling off three perfectly good walls. Catching myself a walloping bruise on my back by my lower rib in the process. I remain astonished at how swiftly and completely my upper body strength has deserted me. This does Not Bode Well.

(Although I met lovely people. Including two very handsome boys. A lot of the boy climbers seem to be both pretty and built. I don't think that's really fair, do you?)

---

Tomorrow, if I go in eeeeearly to gym (again), I can reward myself by coming home early. Which at the moment is looking pretty damn attractive, so I might just haul myself in before dawn, gym, do a tap of work, and flee before four in the afternoon.

Essaying will recommence Thursday.

( Things to do by February 7: )

( Later things to do (dates unconfirmed) )

Enough to be going on with, I think.

I was humming the first couple lines of Andrew Bird's "Measuring Cups" all day.

Get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game,
Come to front of the class and we'll measure your brain;
We'll give you a complex and we'll give it a name

Progress, Monday 7 January, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

New words: 350
Total words: 4,030

Reasons for stopping: college.
Darling du jour: Dusty afternoon sunlight shaded her copper-toned skin to speckled bronze, pooling in the hollows above her collarbone, bringing out the red threads in her earth-brown linen shirt.

I am trying to be mindful of specifics. Sometimes it works. In this case, I'm hopeful.

Tyop du jour: N/A
Mean things: complicated-not-exactly-unrequited love.

---

Today I gym'd, did Greek, achieved a drafty-lacking-a-concluding-paragraph 2.5K-word essay, and went to lectures. I can do an eleven-minute (just) mile in the morning, it appears, though I think I should talk to someone about exercises to strengthen my knees and ankles. I also totally forgot to re-register, so I'll have to remember that tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, the essay's concluding paragraph, and hopefully a draft of the next essay. And climbing. Not missing that for the world.

Then Wednesday, I can start the essay after that.

So far, so good.

---

Put your backpack on your shoulder, be the good little soldier
It's no different when you're older, we're all predisposed
That's all for questions now, case is closed.

Progress: Saturday, January 5, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

Words today: 680
Words total: 3,680

Reason for stopping: more than quota, sleep
Exercise: what do you mean, exercise?
Darling du jour: I aspire to adequacy, tonight.

Tyop du jour: entertamed
Words MS Word doesn't know: N/A
Research: seasonal vegetables - which, by the by, is entirely too fascinating a subject.
Mean things: unexpected messages

Books in progress: textbooks, Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel (English translation by Paul Cartledge), Religion in the Ancient Greek City, Tobias Bucknell, Crystal Rain.

The glamour: Today, I slept in, and stayed home, hermitlike in my isolation. I did nothing, except some writing. It was glorious.

Progress: Friday, January 4, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

Words today: 500
Words total: 3,000

Reason for stopping: more than quota
Exercise: short walk
Darling du jour:

Ramon could rule the death an accident or a suicide and go back to the shade of the watch-house now, if he wished, and no one who mattered would ever care otherwise.
But that's not justice, is it?
Instead, he touched cold cheeks with his fingertips, lifted the dead man's arm.

Not only does this guy think he's funny, he also thinks he's Good. He'll pay for not being nearly cynical enough.

Tyop du jour: N/A
Words MS Word doesn't know: lividity, taverner
Research: rigor mortis, lividity, the effect of insects on dead bodies
Mean things: still rotting corpse, high summer heat

Books in progress: textbooks, Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel (English translation by Paul Cartledge), Religion in the Ancient Greek City, Tobias Bucknell, Crystal Rain.

The glamour: More essay, more commuting. Cold weather.


...You know, this book has been unusually good to me since I started rewriting it. (This makes me worried.) I even know, now, why necromancy is absolutely verboten in the city. Ancestor cult!

(Trust me, it makes sense in my head.)

Progress: Thursday, January 3, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

Words today: 500
Words total: 2,500

Reason for stopping: more than quota, meatpuppet needs sleep.
Exercise: short walk
Darling du jour: "Dead bodies generally are [quiet], Vollier." Ramon pushed sweaty hair back from his forehead and gave the sergeant half a grin. "One of the few good things about them: they don't tend to start riots. Now, before the heat gets worse, shall we examine the corpse?"

This character thinks he's funny. He's going to pay for that later.

Tyop du jour: contsable for constable
Words MS Word doesn't know: whuffed, m'lord
Research: Mediterranean trees
Mean things: rotting corpse, high summer heat

Books in progress: textbooks, Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel (English translation by Paul Cartledge), Religion in the Ancient Greek City, Tobias Bucknell, Crystal Rain.

The glamour: Essay, commuting. And snow!

No, really. Snow!

Progress: Wednesday, January 02, 2008

The duellist of Alusind

Words today: 185
Words total: 1990

Exercise: push-ups, fighting commuters, walk.
Darling du jour: "As I can," she said, and swallowed the tangled knot of emotion -- old hurt and betrayal and care twisted up together -- in her throat. "My word on that."

Twenty minutes trying to imply conflicted emotion, and that's still the best I can do. Ah, well. We improve, however slowly.

Words MS Word doesn't know: N/A
Books in progress: textbooks, Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel (English translation by Paul Cartledge), Religion in the Ancient Greek City, Tobias Bucknell, Crystal Rain.

Crystal Rain may turn out to be one of those books that just don't do it for me. Possibly. I'm going to give it another fifty pages.

The glamour: More essay. Commuting.


Last year, when I was trying to write this book for the first time, I made it to 20K before I had to rip it back to take a look at where I'd gone wrong. The second time, I made it to 12K.

This time, it appears that the lightning bolt of enlightenment has struck at the end of the very first scene, before I've gone very wrong at all. Instead of swashbuckling feats of derring-do involving cross-dressing noblewomen and a quest-shaped plot, it appears that what this book needs to have by way of structure...

...are some of the trappings of the police procedural.

So I need to dust off my questionable Watch Inspector and see that he occupies himself with tension! and stakes! and plot! - which, incidentally, will require me to figure out some more about the political situation - while my necromancer-duellist and her intelligencer housemate go about getting themselves neck-deep in bad trouble.

This still leaves me with a trouble-shaped hole in my plot...

(I will go away and think some more.)