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[sinanju]

Tuesday I wrote only a little over 1600 words. I put in a couple of hours yesterday morning, then headed out to a friend's house for Self-Employed/Unemployed Game Day. I spent all afternoon there playing Settlers of Cataan, Race For The Galaxy and Power Grid. It was also a potluck barbecue. We drank soft drinks and munched snacks until about 4, then they fired up the grill for vegetable and veggie-and-chicken skewers. Tasty. It was a lot of fun.

Settlers was the only game I'd played before, but I've played it many times before. It's been a long time, though, so I had to refresh myself on the rules. Race for the Galaxy wasn't much fun. Complex but not terribly interesting--to me, at least. Power Grid, on the other hand, was an enjoyable game. I'd play that one again.

Tuesday, June 2nd
Words Written Today: 1,609
Words Written YTD (since May 1): 38,270
Streak (500+ words/day): 23 Days
Stories in Circulation: 6
Rejections: 3
Stories Accepted: 0

I had real trouble starting today. The first hour I only bled slightly over 650 words onto the page. Took an early lunch break, then sat down and write for another, doing 1400 words--much better. Took off to run some errands: picked up prescriptions at the drug store, used a gift certificate to buy chocolate at See's candy, and bought a couple of magazines and books (research!). Then came home and wrote for another hour and another 800 words or so for a total of 2841 words today.

After dinner I walked up Hawthorne to turn in a couple of rented videos, then on up to Powell's, where I perused the books on writing. One in particular, Book In A Month was interesting. It's a workbook for producing a novel in 30 days. I didn't buy it, but I paged through it and got some useful advice. In particular, the suggestion to Write As If was very helpful.

What the author meant by that is that when you start writing, if you decide partway through the process that you need to change a character's backstory (or any other change, really), you a) make a note in a separate story tracking document explaining what you need to change and why when you revise the story, b) and you continue writing from that point on as if you already had made the change. Once you've finished the novel you can go back and edit, but not until then. The same goes for changes to the plot (I should add a fight between Bob and Allen in chapter two, with outcomes X, Y and Z)--put that note in the tracking document and then proceed with the novel as if it had been written. Add the scene later. Ditto for subplots you want to include--make a note and keep writing, add it later, during revisions.

One thing I've learned over the last month or so about my writing is that I have real trouble establishing a clear, sharp plot. I've spent years writing in games with other people. I think I do well with dialogue and action and characterization...all things I've been practicing all along. But when you're "jamming" with other people in a role-playing game, riffing off of what they throw into the mix...plot is not a priority. You're not heading toward a particular final goal.

So I need to exercise my plot muscles. They're weak and flabby at the moment. Correcting that's going to take time and skull sweat. On the other hand, at least I've been able to figure this out. I'm learning.

Wednesday, June 3rd
Words Written Today: 2,841
Words Written YTD (since May 1): 41,111
Streak (500+ words/day): 23 Days
Stories in Circulation: 6
Rejections: 3
Stories Accepted: 0

Comments

[fikgirl]

DH raves about Powergrid. We even have a copy. Of course, we never have enough people to play it (DH says you need more than two), which means that I've never played it. :(

If you can get your hands on a copy, or know someone who has it, I'd recommend Ticket to Ride. Another awesome board game out of Europe. I really have to say that the European board games are heads above the stuff on the shelves over here.

[sinanju]

Yeah, I enjoyed Power Grid a lot. I've played Ticket to Ride. It was entertaining enough, as I remember, but I'd stick with Power Grid myself. The european board games do seem to be generally better than the stuff here.