Michelle is Fine

I think I overdid it a bit on Monday. I took yesterday off work completely and rested my arm, and things are much better today. Still, I will be cautious. I won’t write much here, because I need to save it for the first draft.

I do want you all to know that my friend Michelle’s lumps all came out BENIGN. I can’t be unhappy with any arm problems I’m having with that news.

See you with more writing, later.

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.

Book Group: Tanya Huff’s Valor’s Choice

Because of my arm hang ups, I didn’t get to blog live during the book group’s consideration of Tanya Huff’s Valor’s Choice. This is going to be a shorter version of the usual as well.

Readers who both liked the book and who didn’t like the book had the same main reason: the book was predictable. About half of our group appreciated the nods to the genre of paramilitary science fiction, and found the book to be a familiar roller coaster ride that they enjoyed. They relished the familiar. On the other hand, part of the group felt that the book should have broken away from what they felt was cliche and predictable. The English teacher (yours truly) suggested that the book was beloved genre to half the readers, and predictable cliche to the other half.

One reader suggested that the real story starts about chapter 5. Again, some of the readers suggested that they liked the back story of the characters and disagreed. Others wanted to get right into the action. Interestingly, we had two separate editions of the book, and they were marketed to different expectations. The older version, which focused on the action and the choices, frustrated readers who wanted the plot right now. The new version of the book focused on the main character and her growth, and those readers felt that the book delivered on its marketing promises. Certainly, the consensus of the book was that it was closer to the marketing blurbs of version 2.

Other things at random: last part of the book was strongest part. Someone felt there were too many characters. Some folks wanted more of support characters. Others thought that it was definitely Torin’s book and should remain that way. Many of us appreciated the nod to the Michael Caine film Zulu.

Overall, the book was touted as a fun ride, better for some than others.

NEXT MONTH: Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry, just in time for Halloween. Get your questions for Mark to Cath by October 10th. Book talk, Monday, October 20th at 6pm at Coffee Talk Cafe. All are welcome. Do read the book.

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.

Hulk Hercules First Draft: Fait Accompli

The first draft of Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler is done. It weighs in about 38K.

38,118 / 38,118 (100.0%)

***

What happens next? About everything. We’ve laid all the pipe, and have gotten a sense of the characters and plot. The only character who remained as planned was Tony. The rest of them went in interesting directions, Nonna in particular. I need to make sure I weave plot threads all the way through the story in both directions, and firm up sketchier scenes and subplots with important details and research. The revision will be a serious firming, with a conscious injection of edgy yet whimsical humor (oh my God! jacket coooppppyyyyyy!!!)

I expect an overall expansion of the wordage. How much we shall see.

The salient detail, however, is that we are done 12 days ahead of time in the month of the broken arm. Go me.

Hope you are all flourishing out there in writer land. It always feels good to get to this point. My rough drafts are really so crap usually. Now we can pull back and focus.

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.

The New Plan

Delusionally, I have determined to work on the rewrites of Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler and The Substance of Shadows at the same time. The plan I’ve sketched out for myself gives me a surprising amount of time in the remainder of September, October, and November to do both, with ample room for flex. It looks like all of November is flex.

Tomorrow, we’ll crank up those new meters. HH: PW goes first each day. Today we rest the arm.

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.