Yay! They're going to keep doing weekly videos!
I mean, it isn't like my life was over, but I got teary over the weekend a couple of times thinking that the project was over. Like when I heard "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" on my iPod! And when I'd click on my online bookmark list and see John's blog or the B2.0 site on there.
Now I don't have to be sad anymore. So, yay!
I'm not going to reflect on my 2007 writing goals because that would require me to pull up my entry from last year and actually read the thing. I suspect that doing so would make me laugh really hard at how naive past-me was. Or it might make me depressed that I accomplished few, if any, of my goals. Instead, I'll just move forward! Goals for 2008
1. Finish THE FAKE MCCOY. I can say without a doubt that I will finish this manuscript in 2008. That's a great start, right? I'm aiming to be done by the end of January/early February. If that doesn't happen, it will be for a really great reason. Like, that I'm horribly maimed or dead. (Knocking on wood.)
2. Get THE FAKE MCCOY out of here! My immmediate goal upon completion of this big old revision/rewrite I've been working on (since June!) is to have a few people read, work on final (I hope!) polishing, get it proofread, and send it off to the agent who requested to read a long time ago. After that, I'll get to querying like crazy if need be.
3. Enter a literary contest. I didn't do this in 2007, but I'd like to do it this year if it ends up being feasible. I have until late-February to get my stuff together. And by "stuff," I mean writing a synopsis.
4. Attend a writers' conference. I didn't do this in 2007 either. I'm going to try to attend one in this area in the spring. Registration for the one I have in mind "launches" in two weeks, so I'll try to be early and get myself commited.
5. Start writing something new. I have no idea what this will be! I've been single-mindedly working on THE FAKE MCCOY since late-August 2006! I've gone back and forth on whether I should write a connected novel from the point of view of one of the girls in Seth's life. On the one hand, I like these characters and I want to see what will happen to them, and I think it will be a lot of fun to show Seth through someone else's eyes. On the other hand, I don't have a solid story idea for either of the girls yet. I want to make sure there is a good reason and a story that needs to be told before I jump into anything. One thing I do know is that no matter what my next project ends up being, my protag will be a girl!
6. Sing karaoke at a bar. Yeah, this has nothing to do with writing, but I feel like I should do it. I'm not saying I'm any great singer (I'm not terrible though), but I think it will be good for me to challenge myself and do this crazy thing at least once in my life. I'm leaning toward "Me and Bobby McGee" in the stylings of Janis Joplin. I'm good at that song. I also learned from playing that video game Rock Band on Christmas with the extended family that I'm good at "Creep" by Radiohead. (FYI: I'm decent at LOTS of songs. Those two I just happen to think I do especially well.)
Last night, I went to watch my husband's band at a club in Seattle. I made sure to show up early to see the first opening band - something I rarely do - because I'd heard that they are a trio of seventeen year olds playing "stoner rock." Just call it research. That's what most of my life feels like these days! My protag, Seth, is a sixteen-year-old high school kid who plays with two different bands (rockabilly and pop/punk) in the course of my story. Most of the band details I write get run past my husband since he's been a drummer in a band since he was fifteen. It was cool to see that the stuff he's told me along with what I've been imagining and writing was dead-on there.
I've watched many bands live over the years, but I don't think I've ever seen musicians quite this young. Sometimes I forget just how young seventeen year olds really look, too. Maybe because most actors who play teenagers are in their twenties? It was helpful to witness it all for myself though. In the coming weeks I'll be writing Seth's one and only "on-screen" stage performance, so what I saw last night should prove helpful for that.
Well, that hit me harder than I could have imagined... I just watched John's last B2.0 video.
I am sobbing. Completely and literally SOBBING over here.
As far as I can tell, I have only eleven scenes left to revise/write for THE FAKE MCCOY. A good portion of these scenes have not yet been written. Or, if they have, they won't at all resemble themselves by the time I'm done. I'm at a part right now that requires a public argument between two characters to reveal Key Information! and to cause The Big Unraveling! for the protag. However, the characters who are meant to be causing this spectacle have been keeping their secret for over three months (that's in story time; not in real time) and have too much self-control to just cause a scene that clues everyone in. Well, that's all fine and good for them, but how can my protag learn the truth and get all agitated by it if they aren't going to cooperate with what's in the outline? Gah!
I went to bed at 8:45 pm last night and didn't get up until 8 am this morning. I wasn't asleep all that time. I just didn't want to get up until I'd worked it out. I think I might have an idea that will accomplish what I need while still keeping everyone in character. Now I just have to write it and see if I'm right!
Inaccurate word meter:
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61,455 / 63,000
(97.5%) |
More accurate word meter?:
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61,455 / 75,000
(81.9%) |
