106 degrees today and the AC died last night trying to shake the house down to the ground. No writing until it's fixed 😱
Dark rooms, lots of fans, and cold showers...
Outside of that...have been using pen and paper lately per the updates above. Making progress. Have one last Class 2015 kid to introduce, or rather reintroduce, a certain hydromancer you're already aware of that King Henry has saved for dessert.
Still not sure how much I'm going to cut all this up...it's just massive as is...very funny in parts, but massive.
Point is: progress even in the summer! Until the Bitch-Queen Fate destroyed my AC...
Probably revenge for what I did to poor, innocent, Best Most Loving Neighbor Ever Countess Sariel in GLASSBREAKER GOES HOME.
Edit 6.3: Might be fixed tomorrow? Waiting on a part and so so enjoying my 88 degree sauna of stuffy, sweaty misery. Shortages for everything right now! Burt is just laying in front of a fan staring up at me with pure judgmental loathing...
In the middle of MARE OF EASTTOWN, very good down to earth crime drama so far, very much recommended...but that might just be the dehydration talking...
Edit 6.4: At this rate the heatwave will end first. Let's look on the bright side shall we? If I'm suffering so much right now then karmachameleontheory means that when I call in for jury duty a week from now they won't need me, right? RIGHT, WORLD?!?!?!
Edit 6.7: Still not fixed but it's cooled off. Wrote a few pages and went for a walk today...so I'm back to normal amounts of crazy...instead of planning to hijack ice cream trucks or searching above-ground pools on Amazon.
Edit 6.8: Finished the big massive Class 2015 intro chapter finally. 5 more to go. Although that one felt like 5 all on its own... Might be the biggest chapter I've ever written...trying to think of others...any super nerds out there that already know my biggest chapter? For shame if you don't!
I don't know, I might have to find some wiggle room with the session structure so you guys don't accidentally think 'gee I'll read just one more before bed' and suddenly it's five hours later and you're still not done! Since none of you ever EVER dare to skim read just so you know what happens faster, right? Bunch of proper one-page-per-two-minutes reading max comprehension style, right?
Most important: AC should be fixed Thursday. As I said we've cooled off a crazy amount. Was 107 last week and tonight we're suppose to hit 49. But the heat will return and I shall not go into battle unarmored yet again!
Yeah- Revenge of the Ner... ummm... Ancient Blood Creature. Without Courtney Thorne-Smith, which just PROVES they are EVIIILLLL!
ReplyDeleteBut good on you for the pen and paper- which is the only way I can write when I am supposed to be... ah... working on my actual paying job.
Stay as cool as you can. Get that darned thing fixed. I will gladly contribute to a GoFundMe for "Fix Richard's AC- and maybe Get Him a PS5"
I do like the process of typing a handwritten first draft into the laptop, makes for a very thorough rewrite of sorts even before you get down to business with a proper edit.
DeleteHowever...using this as an example, I know I want to switch around some scenes in their order AND already added two scenes AND want to change a character around a bit, especially appearance, so here I am with a list of edits I'm going to have to get to much later and hope it all meshes instead of doing it instantly on the laptop as I keep working...
Good luck the AC.
ReplyDeleteFinish the book so I (and the other fans) can buy it and you can get a new AC. Hop to it. ;)
Quote-- I do like the process of typing a handwritten first draft into the laptop, makes for a very thorough rewrite of sorts even before you get down to business with a proper edit. /end quote
ReplyDeleteVery much this. Going from manuscript to "not-Word" (my pet name for my word processing program) allows me a first edit- and also to expand on places where, for lack of energy or brain cells or something, I have made helpful notes to myself like: "more about this" or one of my favorites- "FIX THIS!" But- the second part ALSO applies to Volume 2 of the magnum opus I am trying to write (up to 95k words- and still not done!) Because of being "stuck" for a while and finally getting "unstuck," 40k words of that are one block dealing with ONE of the two main characters, who swap POV throughout the story. All of THAT means I will eventually need to break up her (half of the blinking book) adventure and weave it into the existing text. Because- as is normal for me- I already have the ending of the book written.
Keeping good thoughts on the AC. Living in hot (but not Fresno hot) and humid Tennessee, I (and my cats) feel your pain.
Thoughts on jury duty- ranging from the "that's just mean" to the more creative.
ReplyDelete1. At least the courthouse should have AC
2. Take pen and paper and write. They will just think you are taking notes- lots and lots of notes.
3. During voir dire, explain that you are a fiction writer and have a very non-traditional understanding of the whole concept of "right and wrong."
4. Find a Junior G-Man badge and tell them you are in law enforcement.
I think any notes a juror writes stays at the courthouse when the trial is done, so that would not help R.R. at all during jury duty. :( I do think the "very non-traditional understanding of the whole concept of 'right and wrong'" will, however, get you deselected. I've never served on a jury, but I sat through 4 jury selections for the bastards that killed my brother--it is quite fascinating, and also quite interesting to see why some people get off from being jurors.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Burt find coolness in your world ASAP--my family and I do not tolerate heat (daughter is actually allergic to temps over 75), so you have my full sympathy.
Edit 6.8: Finished the big massive Class 2015 intro chapter finally. 5 more to go. Although that one felt like 5 all on its own... Might be the biggest chapter I've ever written...trying to think of others...any super nerds out there that already know my biggest chapter? For shame if you don't!
ReplyDeleteYou WOULD ask this a month or 2 after I completed my most recent reading of the entire series....
Nevertheless, unscientific survey says "Ding ding ding"- Session 177 from Pit of No Return. For those who are concerned with methodology.... Counted Kindle page turns. If someone wants word counts- they are on their own...
19,500 words-ish for Session 177.
DeleteSession 91's first draft is 24,600-ish PLUS 40 pages I haven't typed in yet.