Leradny Liveblogs The Writing Of A Short Story

So many people have problems finishing something that I, who have finished a grand total of three, have decided that you shall take a look into the mysterious world of the writer as the magic happens. My goal for this liveblog is to help others to see that writer's block is a common problem that can and should be dealt with in the following manner.  ^*

Things You Should Know

• I write longhand first before typing it up. I am discouraged from staying too long on the computer, and get distracted easily anyway. If the scanned pages are too hard to read, go on and ask for a transcript but know that the finished product will be different.
• Tess d'Aubigne is a minor character from my unfinished novel Goddaughter. I have a lot of trouble spelling her last name. She sees the future, which in my universe means that she is called a prophet in both secular and non-secular settings. I think that the more common term "seer" is too vague and unprofessional. She is very emotional and empathetic, which is probably why Anne Hathaway◊ comes to mind.
• I count finished stories in terms of words, not pages, and you should too.

Page One◊.
Page Two◊.

The Beginnings

• First of all I write the time and date down. This is so that, if I forget about it in favor of something else, I will know how long it's been and admonish myself properly. Yes, it has been a week. That is small beans compared to months and months. No, I do not use margins. They are for wimps.
• I then write down a working title: "Apples and Oranges" which may or may not persist to become the actual title. Often it describes exactly what is in the tin because if it didn't, I would make a horrible pun and it is an addiction I must break.
• A minute or two is spent thinking up a bare-bones one sentence summary: "Tess d'Aubigne struggles with the knowledge of her death, and—worse yet—love."
  • This may be followed by an alternate, nonsensical more creative summary in parenthesis. Cough. In this case: "Mirror, mirror, show me the face of my love."

The First Stretch

• In which I write out a chunk of the beginning of the story. I do write all the scenes in the order I want the reader to read them in.
• Yes, that is a really mean-spirited Deconstruction of Cute Clumsy Girl. Which is also probably why I thought of Anne Hathaway.
• The blanks you see scattered throughout the text are just my faulty memory not coming up with the exact terms. I don't make up terms if I know they already exist. There is a word for cloud-reading, and I know that "scythe" has two meanings one of which being a warning of death.
• Yes, she did go to a pastor to ask what symbols in the clouds meant. And yes, she goes to church every Sunday. I have nothing against organized religion and pastors in my experience are very nice people.
• Sandra is an allusion to Cassandra. However, she married into the family of prophets and is not one herself, which is why any prophecies of hers are not taken quite as seriously. Tess is fourteen however, and still thinks her mom knows everything.
• Also yes, Tess has both parents who love her very much. She even has grandparents who love her very much! Because you don't need to be orphaned to have angst.

Page Two

• Look, obligatory Bechdel Test taking!
• After forty-five minutes of writing I am tired and wish to do something else. Cue a read-through in which I look for possible problems.
  • "Ugh, I don't remember if tasseomancy symbols are the same as cloud symbols." *crosses out*
  • "Hmm, Tess is not acting much like a fourteen-year-old. I will either fix it in post or tell people that she has regressed to acting about eight years old in the face of bewildering trauma."
  • "Holy shit Tess hasn't said anything! That will pose problems for passing The Bechdel Test! Oh well, it's only a page in and she will be going to boot camp with a bunch of other girls so yeah."
  • "That Title Drop is shit." *crosses out*
  • "Do I really want a mention of incest? Eh, I'll cross that out later."
  • "Present tense and past tense. Shit. The jumping around will be confusing as it is."
  • "Why does her grandparents' house smell like smoked fish again? Oh well, keeping that detail."
  • "Why did I use biscuits instead of cookies? Did I decide Tess' grandparents were Lunterran (the equivalent of English) and moved to Paritersola (the equivalent of America)? Also I don't know if that's 'mum' or 'mom'. Tess, at least, has an American accent. Must work on writing more clearly."
  • "Gosh, Tess is wholesome. I hope no one hates her and cheers when she dies."

Stay tuned for the next installment!

edited 14th Nov '10 2:10:55 PM by Leradny