Friday, September 26, 2014

Status Update

So far my goal of writing 2000 words a day is turning out to be 2000 for the week! Didn’t help that I had to delete 2800 words yesterday. Talk about painful! But most needed. I had taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque and had to get back on course. That’s the peril when you write by the seat of your pants. But I wouldn’t write any other way.

Let me tell you, though. While deleting those 2800 words hurt, I’m so GLAD those scenes were thinly written. I hadn’t spent all that much time on them (although they were really great scenes and I wish I could have salvaged them); I only wrote what needed to get the story moving. If I had spent hours editing them to make them sound right, it would have hurt a whole lot more.

So basically, when I come to a kissing scene, I just say they kiss and move on. No descriptions. No emotion. Okay, maybe a little emotion. Love scenes (and fighting scenes) are hard. No use spending time on them if there’s a good chance they’ll be cut. Once I know everything is in place, THEN I can add the meat. And as long as I can remember all that, the scenes should get written faster.

At least, that’s the plan!

So… my eye exam went well (no big changes). I couldn’t believe I’ve owned my current set of glasses since 2008. Okay, maybe I could believe it a little bit. They are pretty scratched up. Time to get a new pair, something I hate shopping for. Not only are they expensive, I’ll be wearing them all the time, so they have to look like me. And they can’t distract me (no shiny frames). I have a feeling when I finally get to the store to buy them, I’ll be spending quite a bit of time there (I’ve been known to try on nearly every frame). And no, I won’t consider contacts. Those are even MORE expensive (since I have an astigmatism). If you wear glasses, how often do you buy a new set? Do you get more than one? Yeah, I only get the one pair.
 
They don’t call me cheap for nothing! J
 
Have a good weekend!

Stacy

10 comments:

B.E. Sanderson said...

Sorry about the deleted words. I hate when that happens, but it's a necessary evil. your story will be so much better. :hugs:

Yay for the eye exam. I got my first pair of glasses in almost 20 years a few months ago. They're just for reading - when I remember to put them on. Since I don't have to wear them all the time, I just picked the cheapest pair that doesn't look horrible.

Maria Zannini said...

I used to wear coke-bottle glasses, followed by contacts, two laser surgeries and finally lens replacement surgery.

A lot of money over 40 years but I'm happy with the lens replacement.

Now the only glasses I wear are sunglasses.

Stacy McKitrick said...

B.E. - I've needed glasses since high school. And now I wear tri-focals. Ugh. I could probably get away with not wearing them, but then my eyes start twitching and that's no fun! :)

Maria - My doctor has never suggested laser surgery, so I'm not even sure if my eyes are eligible for that kind of procedure. It would be nice to only have to wear sunglasses, though.

The Happy Whisk said...

Just for driving at night for me, otherwise, none.

Do you ever save those scenes that you like to another folder, for another time?

Back when I wrote fiction, I removed large chunks but they were fun scenes, however more of another adventure so I saved them in a folder.

That being said, chopping and deleting doesn't bother me. I'm all about what's important to the story.

Back when I was a published paid freelancer in non-fiction, I had to take long phone interviews and get them down to 1000 or 1500 words. So I learned early on, to chop away the crappy parts. Or stuff that we just don't need.

Good luck and Happy Writing.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Ivy - I create a new document every day, so the stuff that got deleted is in the old document. I don't have a document of just deleted stuff. That would be too time consuming.

And if I'm deleting a chunk of stuff I wrote THAT day, then I've been known to create a new doc with a -2 at the end of the date to indicate major changes.

And you know what? I rarely go back and re-use a deleted scene. See...there's a reason it's deleted. :)

JeffO said...

I need a new set, as my lenses are all scratched, too. I'll get new lenses popped into the frames I have, which I like and I'll wear either until they fall apart or I decide I need/want something new. It could be years.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jeff - Unfortunately, my frames need replacing, too. :(

Sandra Cox said...

Deleting 2800 words. Ouch!
I got new glass frames a couple of months ago....I'm ready for new ones.

The Happy Whisk said...

Understandable. For me, I have gone back and used stuff.

Happy writing.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Sandra - Only two months old? I hate breaking in a new set, that's why mine are six YEARS old! Haha!

Ivy - Don't you notice that once you write it down, it never really goes away? If I get a chance to re-use a scene, I tend to write it better the second time around! :)