Procrastination at Work

Apparently, part of my writing agenda today is to procrastinate, to respond to other people's writing, and to seek out interesting opinions in the blogs of my friends. You might have noticed more chattiness out of me today, for example.

I'd like to suggest that this is all about me percolating ideas for the revision of Chapter 2 and a couple more intense scenes I want to put in there. I would not like to suggest that this is me avoiding writing an Elements of Writing syllabus for next semester, which is what good English Language Acquisition coordinators would be doing now.

Allow me to live the lie. Please.

More writing tonight, I'm guessing, because I'll bet dollars to donuts inclement weather will cancel my friends coming to dinner.

Catherine

Writing New Scenes and Fan Fiction Versus the Void

I'm writing brand new scenes for Chapter Two that introduce characters while moving the plot. I'll show you something when it's a little more polished. I also have to add in some stuff about Elaine and make Borgia more intriguing here. So, yeah, some stuff to do without overplaying my hand.

Gods, but I'm a wordy writer! I wish I'd bought stock in the word "just."

***

Meanwhile, I've inadvertantly discovered what fan fiction really is: fan fiction is a response to the void left in the cosmos when all that stuff authors want in their stories, is cut out because it affects the plot movement and marketability of their book. You know the stuff I'm talking about, and yes, it should be cut, but it doesn't change the idea that you know it and you want it in there, and it's not there, and fans want stuff like that, if you have fans.

No one cares about the void with a lesser known author, but should your characters gain a life of their own, other people want to fill in the details they are sure you haven't thought about. Nature, even fictional nature, abhors a vacuum.

You have, of course, written material to plug the vacuum nicely, but your editor/publisher/agent won't let you keep all that hubris in, in spite of the wishes of your loyal readership to know whether Errol Klarion, say, prefers sugar or plain. (sugar, by the way) The reason? Only the most fanatical of fans want to know the answer to sugar versus plain. You of course, want to know too, and you want to share it with the world, but no, clearly that path belongs to another. Even if they get it wrong.

(At this point Catherine wonders if authors go on line with pseudonyms and already written hubris about their own characters. You know, Elvis did enter an Elvis impersonation contest in his later years. He came in fourth. I wonder how plausible your backgrounds about your own characters are. Will anyone ever believe your own "fan fiction" about your characters? Hmmm....)

Back to writing about shadows.

Catherine