Matthew S. Rotundo's Pixeltown

So a couple weeks after bouncing off the first draft of Escaping Canaan, I’m back in the word production business.  Behold, the first Magic Meter for “The Winter Palace:”

Yeah, that’s right.  You can’t stop the rock, you bastards.

That projected word count of 5K is already looking like a pipe dream.  And I still don’t know how this thing is going to end.  But I suppose that’s better than not knowing how it begins.

Speaking of beginnings, here are the opening paragraphs:

Father had always told her never to talk to snakes.  But it wasn’t her fault.  She had only gone to the river to get away from the castle for a bit, as she often did when angry or unhappy.  And the snake spoke to her first.  So how could that be her fault?

Still, she knew Father would never approve.  She knew she shouldn’t have replied.  But she did it, anyway.

Besides, the snake had been so nice.

No updates for Write Club.

Rocking on . . .

Went back to the drawing board on Escaping Canaan, and actually discovered several cool things about my opening, and about the story in general.  Like, for instance, the fact that I was missing a critically important character.  Ah.  Good to know, that.  Would have been even better to know it a little sooner than now, but hey.  Such are the ways of the muse.

Given those encouraging discoveries, it would have been natural and perhaps advisable to continue making notes for the novel, but I didn’t.  See, if there is an upside to realizing you’re not yet ready to start a big project, it would be the realization that you’re free to pursue other, smaller projects.  I kinda promised a short story to a certain someone out there, and this would be the perfect time to do it.  As a bonus, I’ll lay down some new verbiage before the end of the year, and replenish my severely depleted short fiction inventory.  So I spent the rest of the week casting about for the story.  I think I have most of it now.  In fact, if I’m not careful, this thing will explode into its own novel.

That’s the thing about SF and fantasy:  you start sketching in a new world, a place that never was, and before long, you get curious about what might exist beyond the borders of the short story framework you’re working in.

But no.  If there is to be a novel, it will have to wait its turn. For now, I’m just going to write this short piece.  Working title:  “The Winter Palace.”

Would be nice to know how a bit more about how it ends, given that it won’t take me long to get there.  But hey.  Such are the ways of the muse.

Write Club update:  Tier one bounce from Buzzy Mag.  Response time, a month and a half.

Off to find my ending . . .

Scraped up another 1,000 words on Escaping Canaan.  Magic Meter is apparently out of order at the moment, but we’re up to 3673 words.

And this is where I have to stop for a bit.

Something is very wrong with this opening.  It’s just not working for me.  Less than 5K in four weeks?  That’s paltry, even by my standards.  I’ve been trying to just bull my way through, hoping for the words to come.  But they ain’t coming.  Which leaves me with two possibilities:  either I’ve forgotten how to write, or the story’s not ready to be told yet.

Now, some might question whether I ever knew how to write, but ever the optimist, I have decided that the problem is with the novel.

See, at the time I started drafting, I was acutely conscious that the end of the year was nigh, and I was way behind on my 2012 word goal.  Rather than lose even more days to getting a better feel for the story, I decided to wing it.  I had a pretty good idea for the ending–which almost never happens–so I figured that I knew enough to get started.

Four weeks later, I realize that it’s more important to know your opening than your ending.  Huh.  Who knew?

Which means I have to step away from drafting for a bit, get back into Dream Time, and see if I can whip this first act into shape.

This realization was quite discouraging, naturally.  It’s a setback.  I’m going to fall far short of my word goal for the year.  And the novel just might not work at all, at least not in its current incarnation.  But after a month of slamming into this wall, I guess I can take a hint.

I dunno.  It could be simple laziness talking.  But you know, as much as I self-deprecate, even I can’t see myself being that lazy.

Back to the proverbial drawing board.  And if this doesn’t work out, there’s still the rewrite of Apocalypse Pictures Presents waiting for me.  It’s been sitting since February.  Probably I have enough distance on it now.

So I’m covered, no matter what happens.

See?  Told you I was an optimist.

Write Club update:  20 days to notice that a story of mine has been passed up to the next level at Penumbra.  So that’s something.

I’m out.