Not so productive hunting today. Only 350 words and some editing, though there's a couple of sentences in that I was quite pleased with. I did make a teensy bit of progress on my plethora of bullet points for this scene.
Got a bit side-tracked on researching various things that weren't particularly helpful (especially as I convinced myself that one detail I have earlier of which I'm fond is probably a touch anachronistic), but I did get myself an image gallery of suitable models for the location, which hasn't yet turned into words but at least gives me something to refer to every time I want to describe bits of it.
I feel completely drained, so I'm going to get an earlier night...
I can so relate to everything you just described!!! I've been doing much of that today again, but if you have this background information in place now, I think you will speed along next time to you sit down to write.
You're plugging away at it, that's such a plus. Even if the research wasn't completely useful, little bits of it can crop up and help in the most unexpected places.
Thanks. I do think just keeping nagging away at it is helpful even if it doesn't result in too many words. And knowledge is always good; even if it doesn't find its way into this story there are future ones...
You plugged away and achieved something, anyway. And even if the research hasn't produced immediately useful results it may have squirrelled away a gem you can't yet see.
Indeed, keeping plugging away does seem to be the right thing. I think the research did get out of hand, but it might prove useful for some future story.
The microbots spread, built more microbots. When they covered the side of the Moon facing Earth, their lights formed text: "Advertise here!"
And here is one from today.
He saw the exit sign. Paused. Then he opened the door, stepped through, and left Reality. He had just planned to visit, not stay a lifetime.
Yesterday I had the sort of workday that made wish this was autobiographical. Still, the weekend's in sight, and tomorrow I'll go in to London to meet some good friends I haven't seen for years.
Lots more research and some exciting ideas (diagrams were drawn!), much of which I'll not have time to incorporate into the length story this will need to be considering the due date. Anyway, finished and polished somewhat the rest of the scene with Cerrig.
***
“In one of the caves, there is a soldier feverish from an arrow wound. Short, sturdy, light-haired with dark blue eyes, although those may well be closed,” Scryloc continued. He released Cerrig’s arm and pulled something from his pocket. He held out his closed fist, palm upwards and uncurled his fingers. A pointed stone with bits of bloodied wood attached lie in its centre.
Cerrig’s eyes grew round. “I’ll bring what’s necessary,” he said, starting to turn away.
“Wait,” Scryloc said, drawing a leather pouch from his pocket. He dropped the arrowhead inside. The tip of a black feather peeped from the opening as he tightened the leather strings. “Take care approaching him. He retains at least his sword. Show the arrowhead and the feather if he is awake. Lay them near him, if he is unconscious and wake him with words, not touch.”
“He has the sight?” Cerrig asked, taking the pouch.
“I believe so,” Scryloc said, “although it’s possible he is unschooled and exercised his gift unconsciously in extremis.”
The boy shouted that the cart was fully loaded. Cerrig waved his acknowledgement. “I hope I find him alive,” Cerrig said.
“Bring the body back if he isn’t,” Scryloc said, obliterating the map at their feet with broad strokes of his stick. “I would that I could go with you.”
Cerrig shook his head. “This close to the celebrations there would be panic and your brother would send half of Sarum searching for you.”
“No doubt,” Scryloc sighed. “Take Figden and an extra cart. Proceed as fast as you can; I’m not sure yet how much I can help from here.”
If not incorporated into this story, I hope the exciting ideas (with diagrams!) will show up at some point :)
We're getting a sense of the society now, it values people with the sight? There seems to be real power connected with it. And what are these celebrations coming up? Something tells me they'll have a large role to play...
Still fiddling with a few different ideas. Today, we see that Neumann and Noack have started their celebrations early and Illya has found them in Beldon's empty office. I'm not sure I'm going to go in this direction in the end, but i wanted to see where it might lead.
***
Illya looked at them for a moment, looked from one box of presents to the other, then shook his head. "It's a bit early to be hitting the Christmas Spirits isn't it? Next time make sure the thermal imaging system is turned off, not just the office perimeter alarm. I'm not officially on duty for another twenty minutes, I strongly suggest my friends, you be gone by then," he turned the light off again and closed the door.
Left in the dark, neither man spoke for several seconds. "Idiot," Noack finally hissed, "how could you forget that?"
"It's hard to bring back up once it's been shut down. With Strothers off at his meeting, I didn't expect anyone to check the monitors for a while."
"He's going to know it was us, I should never have let you..."
"What's he going to do, run to Beldon? He's got no proof, Illya won't say anything," Neumann said with the assurance only an almost empty bottle of Kirschwasser can provide.
We did a re-watch of Summit Five last night, so our memories are refreshed with regard to Beldon's office. Were they in the sauna, on the desk or one of those high back chairs? ;-) (Very careless to forget the thermal imaging system!)
They're switching the presents in the Weihnachtsmann bag. Strothers did something (I haven't figured out excatly what yet) to make them mad. I need more than one thing to go wrong at the end--I don't know if this will work but I might as well try it.
Neumann and Noack slash--I don't know about you sometimes.
Switching the presents is the kind of idea a person (naming no names, ahem) might come up with even if they hadn't been driven mad. It seems like the kind of thing that could go excellently wrong at the end.
Too tired to do anything even vaguely useful. I'll watch today's episode of "The World's Worst Movies" on German TV - it's going to be Sharknado 2, with the acerbic comments of Oliver Kalkofe - and than fall into bed. Especially as we're having the semi-annual flat cleaning frenzy tomorrow. Magic doesn't have a rat's chance to work. Sorry.
Yes, they made a sequel, which is even worse, if it's humanly possible. But with the blurbs appering on screen whenever someting particularly impossible happened and Kalkofe's comments during the breaks made it a hilarious experience.
A slightly sad day made it hard for me to get into the swing, but having written 300 words of blog post (http://six-old-cars.livejournal.com/29542.html) about that I did then manage 700 on the novel this evening.
There's some name place-holders in today's snippet. It's from the "sole developer plan" memory Catherine chose, and [Elise] should be Elise's surname when I've thought of one...
Elise knows what he really means. They want to take the project away from her, give it to some pure-bred Arcturan with no feel for the complexities of what she's already achieved. They didn't interrogate anyone after Arlan's breakdown or Johann's rampage. “I can continue the work,” she says. “I work best alone.” The guy nods, condescendingly, disbelief plastered over his face. “We realise that,” he says, fake charm on full. “Nobody's suggesting we replace you. But the few written minutes we have mention the importance of peer review. Surely you need an observer, at least. Just a second set of eyes.” “Garbage!” Peer review indeed! Does he think she's stupid, not to see through that? “Only one observer is needed, and that's me. I don't know who said otherwise but-” “It was you, Doctor [Elise].” For a moment, Elise has no idea what he's talking about. What did she say, when? And why? She thinks back over the conversation and it's like a dream, like the engram replays, like watching somebody else's thoughts. “Multiple observers,” she says, “would be essential in application. The perspective...” She tries to order her thoughts but everything's hazy, double-exposed. “No one person will ever be guaranteed to catch every nuance,” the colonel reads off his pad. “That's what you said.” “Yes.” She has a sense of deja-vu. “Arlan might be convinced he can catch everything by repeatedly reviewing the same memory but he won't. Karl and I definitely spot things he doesn't.” “But Karl isn't around any more, neither is Arlan.” “What?” She feels hollow from the news, the sense of loss. Like she had when she first heard the diagnosis. She knows they're gone. How could she have forgotten? “Are you okay, Doctor [Elise]?”
(The problem with this is I'm trying to portray a mind that's on the edge, and I don't know if it works)
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:50 am (UTC)Got a bit side-tracked on researching various things that weren't particularly helpful (especially as I convinced myself that one detail I have earlier of which I'm fond is probably a touch anachronistic), but I did get myself an image gallery of suitable models for the location, which hasn't yet turned into words but at least gives me something to refer to every time I want to describe bits of it.
I feel completely drained, so I'm going to get an earlier night...
no subject
on 2014-11-21 06:09 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 12:57 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 03:55 pm (UTC)Research is great, but it canbe a dreadful timesink and sometimes thief of happy ignorance.
no subject
on 2014-11-22 08:49 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-22 08:50 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:19 pm (UTC)I hope you had a good night's sleep!
no subject
on 2014-11-22 08:51 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 09:23 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-22 08:52 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 11:46 am (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 12:57 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:06 pm (UTC)Have a terrific time in London! :-D
no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:23 pm (UTC)Enjoy the weekend!
no subject
on 2014-11-21 02:29 pm (UTC)***
“In one of the caves, there is a soldier feverish from an arrow wound. Short, sturdy, light-haired with dark blue eyes, although those may well be closed,” Scryloc continued. He released Cerrig’s arm and pulled something from his pocket. He held out his closed fist, palm upwards and uncurled his fingers. A pointed stone with bits of bloodied wood attached lie in its centre.
Cerrig’s eyes grew round. “I’ll bring what’s necessary,” he said, starting to turn away.
“Wait,” Scryloc said, drawing a leather pouch from his pocket. He dropped the arrowhead inside. The tip of a black feather peeped from the opening as he tightened the leather strings. “Take care approaching him. He retains at least his sword. Show the arrowhead and the feather if he is awake. Lay them near him, if he is unconscious and wake him with words, not touch.”
“He has the sight?” Cerrig asked, taking the pouch.
“I believe so,” Scryloc said, “although it’s possible he is unschooled and exercised his gift unconsciously in extremis.”
The boy shouted that the cart was fully loaded. Cerrig waved his acknowledgement. “I hope I find him alive,” Cerrig said.
“Bring the body back if he isn’t,” Scryloc said, obliterating the map at their feet with broad strokes of his stick. “I would that I could go with you.”
Cerrig shook his head. “This close to the celebrations there would be panic and your brother would send half of Sarum searching for you.”
“No doubt,” Scryloc sighed. “Take Figden and an extra cart. Proceed as fast as you can; I’m not sure yet how much I can help from here.”
no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:28 pm (UTC)We're getting a sense of the society now, it values people with the sight? There seems to be real power connected with it. And what are these celebrations coming up? Something tells me they'll have a large role to play...
no subject
on 2014-11-21 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 11:21 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 04:16 pm (UTC)***
Illya looked at them for a moment, looked from one box of presents to the other, then shook his head. "It's a bit early to be hitting the Christmas Spirits isn't it? Next time make sure the thermal imaging system is turned off, not just the office perimeter alarm. I'm not officially on duty for another twenty minutes, I strongly suggest my friends, you be gone by then," he turned the light off again and closed the door.
Left in the dark, neither man spoke for several seconds. "Idiot," Noack finally hissed, "how could you forget that?"
"It's hard to bring back up once it's been shut down. With Strothers off at his meeting, I didn't expect anyone to check the monitors for a while."
"He's going to know it was us, I should never have let you..."
"What's he going to do, run to Beldon? He's got no proof, Illya won't say anything," Neumann said with the assurance only an almost empty bottle of Kirschwasser can provide.
no subject
on 2014-11-21 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-22 02:50 pm (UTC)I love this line!
So what exactly are these two up to in the cupboard? Presumably nothing too slashy given that the thermal imaging system caught them at it.
no subject
on 2014-11-22 03:02 pm (UTC)Neumann and Noack slash--I don't know about you sometimes.
no subject
on 2014-11-22 08:24 pm (UTC)Long day, no words
on 2014-11-21 08:12 pm (UTC)RE: Long day, no words
on 2014-11-21 10:45 pm (UTC)RE: Long day, no words
on 2014-11-21 11:27 pm (UTC)RE: Long day, no words
on 2014-11-21 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2014-11-21 09:20 pm (UTC)There's some name place-holders in today's snippet. It's from the "sole developer plan" memory Catherine chose, and [Elise] should be Elise's surname when I've thought of one...
Elise knows what he really means. They want to take the project away from her, give it to some pure-bred Arcturan with no feel for the complexities of what she's already achieved. They didn't interrogate anyone after Arlan's breakdown or Johann's rampage.
“I can continue the work,” she says. “I work best alone.”
The guy nods, condescendingly, disbelief plastered over his face. “We realise that,” he says, fake charm on full. “Nobody's suggesting we replace you. But the few written minutes we have mention the importance of peer review. Surely you need an observer, at least. Just a second set of eyes.”
“Garbage!” Peer review indeed! Does he think she's stupid, not to see through that? “Only one observer is needed, and that's me. I don't know who said otherwise but-”
“It was you, Doctor [Elise].”
For a moment, Elise has no idea what he's talking about. What did she say, when? And why? She thinks back over the conversation and it's like a dream, like the engram replays, like watching somebody else's thoughts.
“Multiple observers,” she says, “would be essential in application. The perspective...” She tries to order her thoughts but everything's hazy, double-exposed.
“No one person will ever be guaranteed to catch every nuance,” the colonel reads off his pad. “That's what you said.”
“Yes.” She has a sense of deja-vu. “Arlan might be convinced he can catch everything by repeatedly reviewing the same memory but he won't. Karl and I definitely spot things he doesn't.”
“But Karl isn't around any more, neither is Arlan.”
“What?” She feels hollow from the news, the sense of loss. Like she had when she first heard the diagnosis. She knows they're gone. How could she have forgotten?
“Are you okay, Doctor [Elise]?”
(The problem with this is I'm trying to portray a mind that's on the edge, and I don't know if it works)
no subject
on 2014-11-21 10:53 pm (UTC)I think you got the sense of breakdown happening with Elise. It's not extreme, but it's there.
no subject
on 2014-11-21 11:42 pm (UTC)And I hope Harry will be cherished in his new home :)