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The past few days I've taken time off from work to plow ahead with the writing for this extended weekend. Progress has been slow per day but steady, and I'm pretty happy with how it's been going.
Today in planning for the next section I did a bunch of additional necessary research around the timing of the events in the story, and discovered that the more details I found out - the more things fell perfectly into place. Including unexpectedly some details regarding the name chosen for a character that was put in 'because it seems to fit' back in book 2. And here I am working on number 5. (And no, I won't give any spoilers!)
Plus this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened when writing all of these. At moments it's felt like riding a train of synchronicity, to steal a term from Jung. Now as an author I'll later have to claim that 'of course this was all perfectly pre-planned!' and hope my nose doesn't grow a few inches, but yeah. :)
Has this happened a lot to other writers? Where small random details put into place early on suddenly later are the perfect puzzle pieces that click right in even better than had ever been planned or hoped? I'm curious, because it's been such a darn trip how often that seems to occur.
And at times it has left me wondering just who exactly is writing all of this: me, my subconscious, or...[fill in the mystical blank]? In any case, whoever my muse truly is deserves a bouquet of roses and some bottles of a seriously good wine.
I'll even toss in a box of fine chocolates...
- Erisian <3
Comments
Don't underestimate yourself
A good software design draws upon Design Patterns that somehow always lead to similar naming of objects in the design and if done right should require less refactoring.
A good story layout allows easier 'plugging in' of elements if time was spent on setting up a framework that kind of guides that.
BTW - Kitty is still favoring her front right leg, hobbling along when walking. This is going to be a long slog for her :(
The only upside is that she can still climb and land from a lesser height fine. She is far more needier than her more independent self pre-injury.
Kitty
Poor kitty. :/ I hope it's just a sprain and nothing broken! Hugs to you and snugs/scritchies/treats to your kitty...
Okay, okay...treats for you too! :) -offers chocolates-
Kitty status
Well according to the vet she has full range of motion and nothing seemed broken.
She did not yell in pain when the vet handled her but then again cats do not like showing vulnerability to those they don't fully trust.
She does with me though and will give a plaintive mew and pull her leg away from me when she thinks any handling by me might hurt her limb.
I am left wondering if her recent nail trim at her annual vet visit might have had an influence as she may have momentarily forgotten she did not have the claws anymore and lost her grip.
She is not destructive really so I might give up on the claw trim in future.
Oh and thank you for the sweets, my back is still causing a lot of trouble. I was walking around at a fair recently and it had to walk really slowly as my injury is causing numbness when I flex as I am walking.
I wake up in the morning with minimal pain but walking is flexing and putting pressure on the damaged area and induces numbness. I do better with less numbness when I walk more like Groucho Marx. Oh well.
Back pain
Back pain is no joke, especially when nerves are impinged. Glad that the pain is 'minimal', but still.
Years ago a guy I worked with was stupid and tried to recapture his glory days of college wrestling against my friend who'd regularly been hitting the gym. Guys in their forties at a park having at it. Net result was my friend broke his thumb, and the next day got a call from the 'wrestler' asking for his help because he needed someone with a truck. He was unable to get up off the floor and needed someone to load him on some plywood and take him to the ER because he'd thrown his back completely out. Took months to recover.
I was there at the park with them shaking my head before they even began, and had backed away to a safe distance with no intention of becoming involved. Turned out to be a wise move. lol
In other writing news, Part 4's draft was done today! Spent from 9:30am to 6pm working on it to finish it out. And tomorrow will start Part 5 - or at least the needed research. :)
Back pain
Oh, I know.
I knew better than to push it when the incident happened at work. I merely shifted out of my chair, got up and started to walk down the aisle between cubes and *urk* I felt the pinch. I could not twist my back after that without an almost electric pain in my lower left back and was left standing there (which minimized the pain) unable to move. This minimized further damage as it turned out. After
I was fortunate it was the middle of the day and people were still around and was able to summon medical help from the campus nurse (hey, I work for a big company, thankfully.) I was helped to the bathroom by the nurses (I was headed to the ladies at the time of the incident), ice packed, Tylenoled, wheelchaired to my car and even managed to drive home.
Anyways, I am pretty light weight so that has probably helped me as less weight means less stress else I would've been out for months.
As it is I managed to get back to work only 5 days after the incident but I am of course hardly recovered. It will be a long slog as I think I've mentioned previously. Yard work is out though as I can't constantly bend down and stuff so I am frustrated at the condition my yard is in, weed-wise.
Word to the wise of people who throw their back out is to not too prematurely put too much stress on it after the incident, it will just slow down recovery. It bears repeating that it is an analog to a sprain and will take a similar amount of time to heal.
Oh, when I mean minimal, I mean there is no pain as long as I am fully horizontal sleeping but yeah, I am perfectly aware of it when walking. I am VERY fortunate that I am at least in fair condition. My chiropractor characterizes me as having good core strength but I have no doubt having an office job has created this weakness.
Finally, thanks for the update on the story. It sounds like by the end of the year I will have the opportunity to trot out my proofreading skills again :)
Skills
I'm definitely hoping to get the rest drafted by the end of the year, and I may take additional time off from work (when I can squeeze it into the hectic schedule about to smack us in the face) to try and get it there. We have the 'use it or lose it' type of PTO, i.e. it's 'unlimited...provided your boss and your boss' boss keeps approving it'. The first level up can approve only so much per year, and I've got over a week left unused. I actually took off a couple days leading into this past weekend and dedicated it all to a serious writing marathon. Part 4 was weird - wordwise it's not as long as the others, but in terms of events/significant moments a LOT happened. The writing was therefore rather dense. :)
I will also hope (and offer a few prayers!) that your back improves far earlier and you're feeling much better waaay before I get this whole thingamabob drafted. (Equal hopes and thoughts tossed upwards for your kitty!) <3
PTO
I have the 'you can roll it over up to a limit' PTO, limit varying by seniority.
It's good if you don't use it up all of the time but bad if you have a spike in PTO needs.
So if I had to stay out beyond 2 weeks it would've been STD then LTD. That is costly in terms of economics and puts you out of the loop in getting on another project.
Thank you for thinking of me ^_^
been there, done that too
Many times I will be writing a story and notes for its background when the background notes start becoming a prequel or multiple prequels to the story I am working on.
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
Synchronicity or merely a bent universe
The outstanding time this happened to me was in writing Blue Moon when Richard sleazily suggests that he has "taken a bullet" for Joel by stealing his date with the creepy Sophie Drake. {Spoiler} Twelve chapters later, he does. This is even more remarkable to me, considering that the first chapter of Blue Moon was written as a standalone one-off, not intended as a prolog to a novel.
Well, by the writing of the third chapter, I did know what was going to happen and even how the story would end, but still, it was fairly spooky.
-- Donna Lamb, ex-Flack
Some of my books and stories are sold through DopplerPress to help support BigCloset. -- Donna
I Hardly Feel Qualified to Comment...
,,,given how little I've posted, and that none of it's very long.
But there have been a number of times -- more than there has any right to be -- when a story I'm writing is really coming to me and partway through something unexpectedly fits together. And I wonder whether I subconsciously had that in mind all along.
Only one that's coming to me right now (at least, of stories I posted here) is from "Another Guy at West Peak". I named my protagonist Camille. The only girl I've known by that name was back circa 1956, and what I mostly remember was that at dinnertime her mother would come out to the doorway of a flat across the street and yell "Camille!" at the top of her lungs to get her to come home. Anyway, I couldn't have told you why that was the name that came to me when I started, but when I got halfway through. while trying to fit in she began calling herself Cam Melian, as in chameleon. Was that in my mind when I started? Not consciously.
Eric
Where do ideas come from?
Hey Erisian,
Many years ago I heard a great statement: “Everything happens ON purpose and FOR a purpose.” I believe it’s true.
The late, great Jim Rohn once said, “Rarely does a good idea interrupt you.” I think he meant that we must be open to the idea and to receiving ideas.
How can a name seemingly picked at random for Book 2 a year ago (“because it seemed to fit”) be PERFECT now? I don’t know, but it appears that you continue to tap into your muse (and to be open to ideas).
Where do ideas come from? The religious among us may say it’s the Holy Spirit and they may be right. Others may disagree. I think all will acknowledge that it’s amazing that a thought or an idea – completely unrelated to our previous thought – can have a profound impact on ourselves and others.
Keep up the great writing!
Voldy