Day 1

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Here's today's prompt for you to post your updates and any excerpts and thoughts etc in comments.

I also thought I'd provide a link to a simple word counter, the Picometer at Writertopia.com. To make it easy, just copy the following HTML, changing 1340 to the number of words you've written, and 5000 to whatever your target is:

<img src="http://picometer.writertopia.com/words=1340&target=5000" />

The result for this example is:

Comments

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I'm posting in the future! *g*

This evening I did about 300 words of brainstorming for a drabble for the tolkien_weekly prompt "Harvest Moon". I'll get it down to 100 tomorrow, and post it for the last day of last week's challenge. Then on Monday, I'll post the new challenge series and this week's prompt, and have a week to come up with ... 100 words. *sigh*

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ah, this is what this comm is good for. I was forced to start my story, and I've done the first scene.



Here's an excerpt.

"Could you leave a brother or sister like that, Avon?"
Avon winced very slightly. "Yes. It would be kinder."
"To you, you mean?"
"Of course. He--the mutoid--wouldn't care."
"Yes, but what if you could reverse the process?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Vila."
"I'm not. Look, it seems to me that the Federation might want some sort of out. I mean, what if they wanted to get the person back, or get their memories back? Some mutoids are people being punished, but you know a lot aren't. You know, "Join the Mutoid Corps and Forget". Very romantic, that is."
"Vila!"
"Well, it is to some, Soolin. Like that Keera Landradi, you know, the actor. Career going downhill, a few lines starting to appear, her lover leaving her, so she makes the grand gesture. People like that, they'd like to know there was a chance of getting it all back."
Avon looked thoughtful. "Hard as I find to admit it, you could have a point. I shall see what Orac can find out."

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Pico is once again working its magic! I've started a new scene in Music II and it's flwoing along quite nicely. Our hero, Mr Rosen, disguised as an American millionaire, is pretending to the Director of the Belvedere that he's the heir to a Klimt painting forcibly confiscated by the Nazis:

Mr Rosen nodded amicably. "Well, sure," he said. "My lawyers'll be in touch in the next few days about that. But I wanted to talk to you first, Mr Director, because I wanted to know what kind of a man I'd be dealing with. There's a whole lot of immoral folks in this world, and when it comes down to doing what's right by a dead Jew, or hanging on to a valuable art collection, well, let's just say the Jew hasn't got a whole lot going for him. But I saw you were touched by my uncle's story, Mr Director, I saw that with my own eyes, and that gives me hope that we can sort out this situation like gentlemen."
It gave the Director hope, too. I could tell by the gleam in his eyes, and by the friendliness of the smile that appeared on his face.

-

I managed 200 words on The Blue Peter Elephant as well, although that's definitely not flowing yet. Jim Todd is the PA to Tommy Masters, the host of Tell It Like It Is. Dildo LaRouche is a transsexual they are trying to persuade to appear on the show.

JIM: Like I said, we got off to a bad start. The Jim Todd you've seen so far isn't the real me, you know. I'd like to show you that I'm not just an insensitive, foul-mouthed, career-driven, sexist exploiter of the underprivileged.

DILDO: You forgot moron.

JIM: That, too. There's more to me than you think Dildo. And I'm sure there's more to you than I think.

DILDO: That's possibly the first intelligent thing you've said all day.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Career going downhill, a few lines starting to appear, her lover leaving her, so she makes the grand gesture

God, that's horrendously creepy! What a brilliant idea!

[avon7.livejournal.com]

I'll admit that I haven't really even seen a computer today - but tomorrow is looking more promising. I've written basically nothing but I have dragged 'Tarn' out of it's dusty Word folder and reread most of it. I've discovered that (1) I actually started it in 2007 so I'm even slower than I thought (2) I've written whole chunks I hadn't even remembered and (3) I like it more than I thought. I do still think I've painted myself into a corner with phi-horses, unfortunately. They're going to be impossible to travel with, particularly inconspicuously, they have too many powers for someone to steal them and they're the pivot point of the whole darned novel so I can't just dump them. *Curses all semi-opaque horses with amazing powers*

On rereading I'm also less convinced about changing it to third person - though I've heard publishers prefer it - and this is my wafty attempt at writing something I could sell. Opinions very welcome.

This is an excerpt that I haven't written this year but have just played with and tidied a little.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
She went to collect our mounts who were looking, for a wonder, positively solid. Did they have an unwarrantedly high opinion of my ability to save us all – or were they, as my sceptical soul suggested, too stupid to realise their danger? It all only confirmed my already low opinion of their sense; a fluttering dress or a cracking stick was enough to send them into a trembling decline, but a frantic flight from capture across dangerous lands they seemed to find quite salutary. Of course, I further mused, reaching up a hand for Tilar, perhaps they were as intelligent as Lilleneth claimed and as unlovable as I believed and were in such good spirits because they realised they were the only members of the party not in any danger were we to be captured by the authorities. They could expect a hot bran mash while we were facing the noose. I grimaced. ‘Born to be hanged’ – how often had Margolet said that? I was determined I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

“For today we will ride during the daylight hours for as long as we can. The forest gives us cover and we are unlikely to be seen by passers-by. On the other hand, at best, we will be missed in an hour or so at breakfast and they will begin searching very soon. If we’re lucky they won’t look where we are because they will be expecting us to be heading somewhere more…”

“Sensible?” offered Raynal.

I scowled at him.

“Predictable,” I said firmly. “But we can’t rely on that. We need to be as far away as possible. By this afternoon, we should have crossed the Yallen River and we’ll stop then for a couple of hours sleep. We’ll start travelling again once it is dark, and we should be at the edge of the marshes by the next dawn.”

My little party seemed to accept my plans with what I saw as worrying amount of faith. I never thought I’d say this but for once I would have positively welcomed High Tutor Branin standing there with one eyebrow raised, saying with deadly gentleness, “That’s an interesting theory, Tarn – and on what evidence might it be based?”

[avon7.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! B7 to read! I grinned at:
You know, "Join the Mutoid Corps and Forget". Very romantic, that is."

It sounded very Vila.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I watched 'Duel' recently and wondered about Keera, whom Travis described as once "very beautiful, very much admired".

You may like a ficlet I wrote a while back: Poppy Day (http://www.farsight.net.nz/fiction/ljfiction.htm).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Not of course that Vila wouldn't be horrified at the thought of himself or anyone he knows doing it. :-) He lets his mouth run away with him.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Interesting; they both intrigue me in different ways. Who is the narrator in the first one, and do you plan to direct the second? :-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Third person is certainly more common, but first gives a more personal feel to a narrative, like Tarn's little aside to the reader: I never thought I’d say this but...

I'd say stick with the style you started with as it seems to be working well. :-)

[azdak.livejournal.com]

The narrator in the first is a fifteen year old called Alison, who has been bribed by Mr Rosen to help him escape from his nursing home to go back to Vienna for a few days (he fled Austria in 1939 and has never returned). In this particular scene she's pretending to be the millionaire's granddaughter.

I would hate to direct something I'd written! And I very much doubt if The Blue Peter Elephant will ever be performed :-) I just want to finish it for the sake of not giving up halfway through.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'll look at that later on today!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

She sounds like an interesting narrator, and I hope Mr Rosen gets what he wants.

You could maybe use scenes with your students?

[azdak.livejournal.com]

On rereading I'm also less convinced about changing it to third person

You must have had a reason for writing in first person in the first place, though - and I'm with Vilakins, I think it works very well. Trying to second-guess what an editor will want puts you on a hiding to nothing - it's tricky enough to write what you want well enough to please other people! So unless there's a pressing story-related need to switch to third, I'd stick with whatever you feel most comfortable with.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

No one ever gets what they want :-) But sometimes they get what they need...

[tawek.livejournal.com]

Well done guys on getting started already.
I've been away and am busy this evening, so Pico, for me, should start in earnest tomorrow...

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I forgot that 1st November meant picowrimo started, so it rather took me by surprise this morning.

My goals are basic, but I'm going to try:

- to finish two bits of fanfiction, one that I've already started, and a second for good meaure.

- to make substantial progress (5000 words?) on a bit of original fic, which is the expansion of a fairy tale I first wrote about 12+ years ago into a children's fantasy novel. I have the plot and characters, it's just (hah!) a matter of getting it down and tying things together... I want the damn thing out of my head.

I have made major progress towards these goals today by ... tidying the sitting room. This means that I now have a clear tabletop on which I can work, and am relieved of a feeling of guilt at the state of the place. A much more conducive space for writing!

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Oh, hooray, I was afraid you'd changed your mind!

Dare I hope one of the bits of fanfic is the one you posted the teaser from the other day? Whatever it is, I know it will brighten my life and gladden my heart.

And origific! Yay! I'm so pleased you're tackling that.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Out of my mind, possibly, but not changed.

Dare I
It depends how things go. It is a possibility (it's not the first piece), but it may require some research, so I wouldn't count on it.

I haven't done any sustained original work for ages - I hope this will be a spur.

[kalinda001.livejournal.com]

I haven't worked on, The Name is Avon story in almost a year. It's about time I continued/finished it.

For those unfamiliar with this tale, it is an AR taking the characters of Avon and Cally (and perhaps others - at the total whim of the writer) of Blakes 7 and dumping them in a Sam Spade-type adventure but set in the dystopian future of the Federation. It's a painfully-tongue-in-cheek story that uses and creates cliches that should make absolutely no sense. Any familiarity with the plots of various film noir detective stories, esp. The Maltese Falcon, is entirely intentional ;)

Here's a hiccup start to it...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Avon woke up to a chorus of rhythmically challenged tap dancers blowing their noses in his head. The pain was excruciating. The last thing he wanted to do was open his eyes and encourage them further, but he didn't have a choice. His last memory was of being in the morgue with his detective friend, Tom. And…Zelda's body lying as still as a beached coconut wearing platform shoes.

He had to sort out the confusing memories and find the truth. His eyes opened a sliver, just enough to see where he was without warning anyone he was awake.

Dirt. He was faced-down in dirt. The light was strange. Unfamiliar smells. Fresh. Plants growing haphazardly, without the benefit of human intervention.

His pulse raced faster, like a one-eyed cat with a bad hangover. He was outside the domes.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh, good!

[kerravonsen]

I did not get any words written. 8-(
But I did get some research done. 8-)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Late late late (due to the twin messes sometimes called Real Life and My Brain) I just want to write something - at least100 words, hopefully more like 500 - every day, on whatever strikes me. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have some completed stories (drabbles, whatever) to show for it...

My first post (from last night, so the 1st here) is here (http://sallymn.livejournal.com/428756.html).

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Research is always good (mind you, I tend to have so much fun reseraching that I don't actually get onto the writing - I have some spectacular world-building on my hard drive...)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I like the first person... it works well in this bit.