Wednesday, September 30, 2009

And Here A Miracle Occurs*

There's an old math joke that involves a complicated formula that goes on for a while and then the mathematician writes "and here a miracle occurs" and then goes on with the equation. Another mathematician standing nearby says, "Perhaps you could be more specific in this step here." My partner, who was a math minor in college, had a t-shirt with this on it because she had a professor who tended to skip several steps in the equation saying that those were "patently obvious to the casual observer."

The point of this little story is that I now find myself in the part of my proposal where I wrote "and then they settle into a routine," which is highly akin to "and here a miracle occurred" because the next scene is the grand finale and I'm not quite sure what I was intending to happen to build up to that.

Also, in case you were wondering "and then they settle into a routine" is NOT very dramatic in terms of story and pacing.

I think I came up with a solution last night (which involves a squid on the mantelpiece** finally going off, or in this case a witch on the mantelpiece,) BUT I still am left this morning wondering how to build up to the big finale.

Also, speaking of math, I discovered this morning that I can't count. Yesterday I thought I had eighteen days until my book is due. I actually had only seventeen (now, today, of course, we're down to sixteen.) Yipes!

Must go try make "and then they settled into a routine" exciting and foreshadowy.

Wish me luck.

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*X-posted from Wyrdsmiths

** For an explaination of the term "squid on the mantelpiece" see the Turkey City Lexicon: A Primer for Science Fiction Workshops

Monday, September 28, 2009

Why is Anything Else More Interesting When I Have a Deadline?

I shouldn't be posting here at all. I should be writing. Like. A. Fiend.

In eighteen days my young adult novel is due at Penguin USA. I've got about a hundred or so pages to write. I suspect I'll make it, given how much I can write during the day. The real question is: how much time will my readers have to read it and for me to revise it after they find everything what is wrong with it....

And wouldn't you know it? The world is full of shiny. I have have dishes that need doing. Kitty litter to change, and, suddenly, it all seems so much more interesting than writing.

So... distract me! What are you up to today? Anything fun?