Rivets and Trees
Being able to write again is wonderful. I'm falling into a pattern now that seems to be working well. I look over the stuff I wrote the previous day, make a one-pass revision to get me back into the groove of the story, and then write until I get too cliche. I'll spend the next day thinking over what I did, trying to find a way out of the hole, and by evening I've typically come up with something that'll make the story more interesting. Wash, rinse, and repeat.
The story I'm working on at the moment would probably be classified as fantasy, though depending on how you look at it it could also be considered historical. I'm trying to stick to social structures and accompanying technologies from a particular time and place. But I'm also making things up as I go, so fantasy it is.
But I work in a job that many would consider science fiction, even though it's actually happening right now. To paraphrase Orson Scott Card, I'm writing about chivalry and magic, but I'm living in a world of rivets and plastic. It gets to be disconcerting.
This is one reason why I hope I can get some time off once this project at work is finished. I've asked my boss and he did say yes, but things like that have a way of turning around. The last time I really started to crack we were all pulling hellacious overtime and he suggested I comp some time instead. Take a day off. Relax a little. Then I showed him my project list. Oh well, that was a good idea... It was at least another month before we had a break in the schedule. I was paid well for the overtime, though, so no complaints.
Still, if I can squeeze in two days in a row, I'm hoping it'll help with the writing. Even if I get stuck on one scene I've got a couple of later scenes already sketched out, so I could work on them as well. One entire set of scenes I was thinking I'd have to scrap just got written back into the plot as a way to get me out of the last hole I wrote myself into (yay!) Recycling is a good thing, especially when it comes to writing. Waste not and all that jazz.
But it's got me to thinking: Maybe I should consider a science fiction story next. Living in a world of plastic and rivets, at least I wouldn't be shifting mental gears every time I sat down to write. Then again, maybe that's the whole point. If I can't leave the rivets for the trees, is it really something I want to be doing?
-- Pencil
The story I'm working on at the moment would probably be classified as fantasy, though depending on how you look at it it could also be considered historical. I'm trying to stick to social structures and accompanying technologies from a particular time and place. But I'm also making things up as I go, so fantasy it is.
But I work in a job that many would consider science fiction, even though it's actually happening right now. To paraphrase Orson Scott Card, I'm writing about chivalry and magic, but I'm living in a world of rivets and plastic. It gets to be disconcerting.
This is one reason why I hope I can get some time off once this project at work is finished. I've asked my boss and he did say yes, but things like that have a way of turning around. The last time I really started to crack we were all pulling hellacious overtime and he suggested I comp some time instead. Take a day off. Relax a little. Then I showed him my project list. Oh well, that was a good idea... It was at least another month before we had a break in the schedule. I was paid well for the overtime, though, so no complaints.
Still, if I can squeeze in two days in a row, I'm hoping it'll help with the writing. Even if I get stuck on one scene I've got a couple of later scenes already sketched out, so I could work on them as well. One entire set of scenes I was thinking I'd have to scrap just got written back into the plot as a way to get me out of the last hole I wrote myself into (yay!) Recycling is a good thing, especially when it comes to writing. Waste not and all that jazz.
But it's got me to thinking: Maybe I should consider a science fiction story next. Living in a world of plastic and rivets, at least I wouldn't be shifting mental gears every time I sat down to write. Then again, maybe that's the whole point. If I can't leave the rivets for the trees, is it really something I want to be doing?
-- Pencil
posted by pencil at 2:31 PM
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