Day 1 (Team July)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

New month, new pico! Here is the post to update with any extracts, thoughts, or comments you might have for today.

Let's the fires burning!

Comments

[saki101.livejournal.com]

My excerpt for today fits very well with your exhortation for July as I think I will entitle this section, On Fire. Carrying on, then - ("It", in the first sentence, is the duvet. :-))

***

“Christ,” Greg says as he stumbles over it and half falls next to John. He puts a hand up to the face lolling against John’s shoulder.

John tugs one of the towels away from Lestrade, starts drying the wet hair in earnest. For a moment, Lestrade tracks the efficient motion of John’s hands.

“John,” Lestrade says. His eyes are bright under the halogen lights.

John glances at him, makes a small noise behind closed lips and shifts the weight of the body slumped against him. He pulls the other towel away from Greg and across the chest of the body, sets to rubbing circles over the towel, mindful not to touch the forearms.

“Tuck the duvet around him,” John says, eyes fixed on his hand. The friction heats his palm.

“John,” Lestrade insists. “Look at me.”

John can feel ribs through the towel and the shirt. He rubs harder.

“John!” Lestrade repeats. “You haven’t seen the face, have you?”

John leans his cheek against the towel-draped head, brings his hand up to the chin, over the cheekbone; he rubs the side of his face once against the back of the head. His index finger traces arcs along the cheekbone. “I don’t need to,” John says.

****
Considered inserting "finally" as the penultimate word there.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Good scene!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that doesn't look promising. For the characters, I mean. For the story itself all the more.

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

Eeeeegggghhh. That's a great scene.

(I know. Sherlock has a frozen zit!)

[akane42me.livejournal.com]

Excellent, I love the anguished intimacy here.

I see you haven't taken up my suggestion to dry him off with blow dryers:)

"JOHN!" shouted Lestrade over the high-pitched howl of the Conair Professional 780x Ionizer. "LOOK AT ME!"

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

A very effective use of present tense narrative here. From this reader's POV, "finally" isn't necessary.

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

You don't need 'finally' - the long sentence before makes it plain. I love the repeated 'John', too.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

The last paragraph is beautifully intimate. Agree with others that the 'finally' isn't needed.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Very effective once again.

[kerravonsen]

I did work on my craft piece today. After trying and undoing my work about three or four times, I realized it was too difficult to keep count of what I was doing (crochet) and went back to the drawing board for a re-design. Which meant that I had to re-do the base chain again from scratch, but now I'm working on the second row and I haven't lost count of my stitches or had to undo stuff, so I guess that's progress.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm stunned! I could never in a thousand years do something like that. So yeah, it *is* progress.

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

I can't do it with wool, but I've done it with words, and I know it's hard work. Post a pic if you can!

[saki101.livejournal.com]

Not having to pick stitches out is always progress! Do we get a description of the project?

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Yay craft! Add me to the list of people who are impressed (as I have never managed to knit or crochet)! Good luck with your new design!

[akane42me.livejournal.com]

I had to read this twice- After trying and undoing my work about three or four times, I realized it was too difficult to keep count of what I was doing (crochet) and went back to the drawing board for a re-design.

Substitute the word 'writing' for 'crochet', and that's my writing method!

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

It's infuriating when you have to go back to the start (she says, from a sewing perspective), but sometimes it is easier in the long run. HOpe this version keeps working out.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I've made unexpected success with he long overdue Chapter 14 of "Arthur's Quest": about 5 pages of jousting written... unfortunately by hand, so it needs to be typed up, to which I won't come so soon. But I'll give you a little foretaste.

Excerpt:

“Is this, then, why I had to come here?” asked Lancelot grimly. “To become the tool of your vengeance?”

The thought did not bode well with him. He did not like being used to serve the purposes of other people – with the exception of Arthur.

The enchantress shook her head. “Oh, no; my loss has nothing to do with your destiny, although fulfilling the one will also mean the fulfilment of the other. But no; you were always meant to come here, conquer the castle and lift its curse. The proof for that is within the castle, though. I cannot show it you before you got in.”

That did not bode well with Lancelot, and he made no secret of his displeasure, but the enchantress was not moved. So, after a lengthy and quite fruitless argument, the White Knight agreed to go on with his efforts to conquer the castle.

“At least I am past the first wall now,” he said. But Gilli shook his head.

“No, Sir Knight, you are not. You’ll have to face ten knights from the first wall again tomorrow.”

[kerravonsen]

Intriguing. Very much a knights-of-the-round-table quest, indeed. Complete with nameless Enchantresses and curses...

I'm going to leave this comment in early

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

because technically I did write this bit in the early hours of July and I'm beginning to be sick of looking at the thing.

And yay - July! Anyway, after a slight digression talking about Reginald getting put in jail because his life was in danger after Australian troops went after him because they didn't approve of black men in cricket shorts (I swear to Christ this is all from real documented events) Lucia, talking to Maurice, returns to the subject of Badura.

Lucia Has Doubts About Eva's Latest Beau

"So there was all excitement and happy joy joy until she told me they were going to stay in London near where Stefan worked. I asked her, what about Oxford? What about her plans? And she looked at me, blank. Then I knew what he was about. He wanted to make her Mrs Hun and have all manner of baby Huns."

"Most men do, when they fall in love, I believe," I said mildly. "Even Huns."

Lucia shook her head. "If I had that attitude, I would never have made it as a singer. It is too difficult for a woman to travel if she has children. [...] So I said, she should tell him she wants to go to Oxford to study and mek big bangarang if he says no. And I said, I wasn't going to say anything any more. It was up to her now to fight for herself." She put her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose and squeezed it. I could hear the strain in her voice as she continued, "He wouldn't have tolerated her taking it easy for one moment. He would have pushed her. I know it."

It took me a few seconds to realise that she was no longer talking about Badura.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Things written in the early morning are completely eligible. I must admit, though, that the love life of your ladies confuses me. ;)

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Realistically, real life means that I'm unlikely to get anything solid written this week, but I'm still enjoying coming up with things. Today's idle composing in the car of a random snippet has Wimsey meeting magical medical students. As Sayers and Rowling both do allegedly phonetic accents, I would hardly be canon-compliant if I didn't take the opportunity.

‘Have you...’ the rest of the sentence was lost in a blushing mumble. Gregory turned desperate eyes towards his fellow student. She met his gaze with a look of horror, visibly straightened her spine, and said,

‘Haf you noticed any change in ze appearance of ze manhood?’

(Readers may be relieved to know that Wimsey replies in the negative, without elaboration.)

:)

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what the blue blazes that's about, or whose manhood is under discussion here - I presume Gregory's - but am glad all is unchanged.

Tho what Wimsey is doing inspecting his fellow students' - er - manhoods is a whole nother question. If that's what's going on, which it might not be!

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

I am doing yet another sweep for plot-holes and to sort out the timeline once and for all, before I get myself inextricably confused with who's dead at any given time, and who is in the country at any other given time. No extract today, therefore.

However, embarking upon this re-read, I was very happy to discover that the first two chapters are essentially postable, and am wondering whether to start doing so, serial style, one chapter per week. But I'm going to be away for quite a lot of August. Hmm. I think I will see where I am next Saturday, and will definitely post chapter one then. (For those that can't wait that long, chapter one is already on my LJ somewhere, but I have revised it slightly since I posted that.)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Good luck finding all of the plot holes! :)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Edited the first draft of my npt assigned story and wrote ~480 words more on the Firiel story - it would have been more, but I got very stuck as I wanted to write the Council meeting and none of the viewpoint characters would be there and it took me ages to decide what to do... and then the new viewpoint character didn't want their bit to just consist of the Council meeting :S

Artamir (Firiel's oldest brother) and Pelendur (steward of Gondor) discuss the coming Council meeting
"Hiding from your father again?"
"You know me too well," Artamir replied with a smile. "Do you know the subject of the council meeting today?"
"I expect it is regarding whatever tiding the messengers from to north brought."
"I had forgotten their arrival. There was a letter, my parents read it last night, then sent us away to discuss it privately - Mother looked fairly stricken."
"At a guess, I would say that it likely contained an offer of marriage for your sister, as that would entail her travelling north and so your mother would fear for her happiness."
"That certainly sounds possible, and certainly explains why Father would not tell me in advance. Poor Firiel - although I suppose it would be inevitable that he would arrange her marriage."
"Indeed, but maybe she would be happy there - after all she feels constrained by her role here."
"I doubt it - she will resent not having a choice, but I suppose she might be happy in time; although I will miss her if she is sent away. I would have thought that she is too young to marry yet - it would be quite a scandal."
"I expect that it would just be a start to negotiations with the marriage date set well into the future."
"I wonder when he intends to tell Firiel - after all it can hardly be a secret, if the whole Council is to know."
"Come on, we should go in - no need to antagonise your father further by being late."

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

Characters! They never do as they're told!

[muninnhuginn]

Dragged out the zombie cat (via a reinstall of the Scrivener beta for Linux, which shows how much writing I've been doing recently as I hadn't noticed it had expired in March) and re-read. Added a sentence to the Prologue, which I now deem to be done, and then a further 327 words to a later section.

So, progress.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Yay progress! :)

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

No actual words, but I typed out an outline for my Sutcliff Swap story and spent some time fleshing out my main OC and thinking over options for PoV character. I hate this stage -- the thing feels flat and dull but hopefully it will improve when written. Also, it's obvious now it's written out that the whole plot is too long to write in the time available, so I'm going to have to find some short cuts.

[saki101.livejournal.com]

But the planning stage is so helpful later.:-) Good luck with the condensing. Looking forward to excerpts.

[steph2311.livejournal.com]

Sadly, day 1 has been one of very little progress as RL leapt in. I did however manage to wite a few (in)coherent words on a page to form part of my case study plan. I hope to have that completed this week so that I can write up the actual case

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Words on page are always progress -- kudos!

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Heirs and Graces

Phase 3 -- July's writing:



Today was mostly about drafting rough versions of the guest blogs I'd planned to write yesterday. But I did manage 500-ish words while waiting for a train. A coda tothe previous scene for a start:

After five minutes, Edward paused to consider where exactly he was walking to. If he continued in his current direction he would soon reach the restaurant and Paulo's room. That was quite possibly the last place he needed to be; sex would might him feel better, but it wouldn't solve anything. He had nothing to prove to himself or anyone else, although he suspected that was what lay behind a few of Hugh's dalliances. Edward knew exactly where he stood, and while certain issues surrounding his nature were an inconvenience there was nothing remotely wrong about it.

He turned, and headed towards the lake. The shore ought to be quiet, and he could sit and think – or even just think – until he could be certain that Consolata had found some other activity to occupy herself with. The last thing he wanted was for her to lose interest in him before he'd set up the place in London, and moved her and Rupert into it. Equally, he didn't want her thinking that his physical lack of interest in her meant that he might grow bored with her altogether. The boy needed his mother, at the very least until he was old enough to go away to school, and Edward didn't want to be plunged into the whole sorry mess that would result if Consolata decided the boy could manage perfectly well without a father.

But she wouldn't think that, would she? She'd been very insistent on the notion that a child needed two parents, and she'd taken Edward's cue and started referring to 'our child' in recent weeks. It would all work out in the end. As soon as he was back in London he could put pressure on the men who were to redecorate the apartment and see that they started sooner than agreed. Then he'd hire a nanny – even if it meant conducting interviews himself – and make sure she was installed within the month. Once everything was in place, he could bring his family over, and there'd be no reason for Consolata to leave.

Having written a little more in that vein, I then started on an action scene before realising I needed to consult maps to pinpoint where Stanton's office is in relation to busy and quieter parts of London. There may be a fight tomorrow if I can figure out where it takes place.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

You seem to be making a lot of progress!

It feels like Edward might be being rather too optimistic here!