Distractions, distractions…

You guessed it, the Maple Leafs are playing the New York Islanders, and it’s not going to be pretty.

It’s made worse by the fact that Chester has decided to barrack for the Islanders.

Turncoat!

But, it gives me an idea to dig myself out of a plot hole, and there’s more scribbling before I go to the master plan, now on the computer, and I can easily move things around.

I was writing yesterday, and somehow my mind took the story off on a tangent.

Sleeping on it, it led to another part, and then it will neatly fold back into the master plan later on. It’s a twist no one will see coming, simply because I didn’t, at first.

As of last night, my word count is sitting at 25,044 words, which is good and gives me a buffer in case I get a blockage of some sort.

Today’s word count looks like it will be about 1,400 words.

The Maple Leafs are 2 to 0 down, and I think I’ll change the channel to a repeat of Murdoch Mysteries.

All I have to do is get the channel changer out from under the cat.

Maybe not.

Distractions, distractions…

You guessed it, the Maple Leafs are playing the New York Islanders, and it’s not going to be pretty.

It’s made worse by the fact that Chester has decided to barrack for the Islanders.

Turncoat!

But, it gives me an idea to dig myself out of a plot hole, and there’s more scribbling before I go to the master plan, now on the computer, and I can easily move things around.

I was writing yesterday, and somehow my mind took the story off on a tangent.

Sleeping on it, it led to another part, and then it will neatly fold back into the master plan later on. It’s a twist no one will see coming, simply because I didn’t, at first.

As of last night, my word count is sitting at 25,044 words, which is good and gives me a buffer in case I get a blockage of some sort.

Today’s word count looks like it will be about 1,400 words.

The Maple Leafs are 2 to 0 down, and I think I’ll change the channel to a repeat of Murdoch Mysteries.

All I have to do is get the channel changer out from under the cat.

Maybe not.

Now, over the cat and his wake-up tactics, food issues, and then walking off with a snooty expression, it might not be, but I’m going with that, it’s time to get to work.

But before that, I’m going to take the time to go over the plan, and taking into account the few sidebars that I made a few notes on to come back to, I realise there was a little loss of continuity.

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to rechart the plan in Excel, so later, when the same thing happens, I can quickly move the ’tiles’ around, and this takes a few hours.

Chester drops by to give me a surly look and wanders off.

Now having sorted the ’tiles’ into order, and added side notes, I’m ready to start again.

Of course, then there’s a problem. I’m writing away, and instead of sticking to the plan, I’m going off on a tangent. That’s the way the story is leading me, pantser style, but it’s only one possibility, so I put that writing aside and go back to the plan.

Done.

Not happy, but it’s written.

Now, over the cat and his wake-up tactics, food issues, and then walking off with a snooty expression, it might not be, but I’m going with that, it’s time to get to work.

But before that, I’m going to take the time to go over the plan, and taking into account the few sidebars that I made a few notes on to come back to, I realise there was a little loss of continuity.

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to rechart the plan in Excel, so later, when the same thing happens, I can quickly move the ’tiles’ around, and this takes a few hours.

Chester drops by to give me a surly look and wanders off.

Now having sorted the ’tiles’ into order, and added side notes, I’m ready to start again.

Of course, then there’s a problem. I’m writing away, and instead of sticking to the plan, I’m going off on a tangent. That’s the way the story is leading me, pantser style, but it’s only one possibility, so I put that writing aside and go back to the plan.

Done.

Not happy, but it’s written.

It was a day like no other.

Oops, been watching Romancing the Stone again, and that catchy line caught my attention. Perhaps I can use it somewhere, one day.

But…

The project is proceeding on course, adhering more to the outline than less, and it’s looking good.

I know just in saying that the ship is about to founder on a reef, so I’ll brace myself.

Today’s quota of words is done early, so I can sit down soon and do the crossword over a cup of coffee while waiting for dinner to cook in the oven.

Perhaps we might have a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with dinner. What I’ve noticed with these is that they are not all the same; some actually taste terrible, and some are quite exquisite. I suspect it might be where they grow the grapes, even if it is in the same region.

And, later, I’ll take another look at the sidebar I decided to add and flesh it out a little more. In view of what is happening, it is rather fortuitous that it came out of left field because it will serve as a reminder that being home doesn’t mean they’re safe.

It was a day like no other.

Oops, been watching Romancing the Stone again, and that catchy line caught my attention. Perhaps I can use it somewhere, one day.

But…

The project is proceeding on course, adhering more to the outline than less, and it’s looking good.

I know just in saying that the ship is about to founder on a reef, so I’ll brace myself.

Today’s quota of words is done early, so I can sit down soon and do the crossword over a cup of coffee while waiting for dinner to cook in the oven.

Perhaps we might have a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with dinner. What I’ve noticed with these is that they are not all the same; some actually taste terrible, and some are quite exquisite. I suspect it might be where they grow the grapes, even if it is in the same region.

And, later, I’ll take another look at the sidebar I decided to add and flesh it out a little more. In view of what is happening, it is rather fortuitous that it came out of left field because it will serve as a reminder that being home doesn’t mean they’re safe.

Like yesterday, the Maple Leafs are playing again, and as much as I want to forsake it and get on with the story, the fact that we are down by a large margin at the end of the first period has allowed me to turn it off, or watch the stage a comeback.

Damn.

I stick with it.

Then, we made a decision to go and see a movie, Last Christmas, because it looked interesting when we saw the preview a few weeks ago.

That means missing half of the third period of ice hockey if we’re going there. Well, there’s always the live broadcast via the phone.

It is not easy driving a car and listening to a brilliant comeback by the Leafs, and the excitement in the car is almost at the same fever pitch as the commentators.

Alas, we lose.

As for the movie, it was everything we hoped for. Two delightful leads who didn’t overact, Emma Thompson as a Yugoslav, and Michelle Yeoh in a restrained performance that I’m unused to seeing her in. Perhaps Star Trek Discovery kick-arse was not needed here.

Christmas, no swearing, no killing sprees, a few songs, and a lesson hidden between the lines. What more could one ask for?

As for the story, I’m having a coffee, and then it’ll be time to get back into the groove.

Or watch Jack Ryan series 3…

Like yesterday, the Maple Leafs are playing again, and as much as I want to forsake it and get on with the story, the fact that we are down by a large margin at the end of the first period has allowed me to turn it off, or watch the stage a comeback.

Damn.

I stick with it.

Then, we made a decision to go and see a movie, Last Christmas, because it looked interesting when we saw the preview a few weeks ago.

That means missing half of the third period of ice hockey if we’re going there. Well, there’s always the live broadcast via the phone.

It is not easy driving a car and listening to a brilliant comeback by the Leafs, and the excitement in the car is almost at the same fever pitch as the commentators.

Alas, we lose.

As for the movie, it was everything we hoped for. Two delightful leads who didn’t overact, Emma Thompson as a Yugoslav, and Michelle Yeoh in a restrained performance that I’m unused to seeing her in. Perhaps Star Trek Discovery kick-arse was not needed here.

Christmas, no swearing, no killing sprees, a few songs, and a lesson hidden between the lines. What more could one ask for?

As for the story, I’m having a coffee, and then it’ll be time to get back into the groove.

Or watch Jack Ryan series 3…

I didn’t take very long to finish my word quota today, and with my spare time, I decided to go back over the plan and see how the second half of the book is holding up against it.

Despite my misgivings about becoming a planner for this exercise, it proved to be a good idea, particularly when you have to write a certain number of words a day to reach the target.

Last year, it was a pantser effort, and I know, at times, I struggled with continuity and found myself having to backtrack when plot changes required earlier intervention.

Writing as a pantzer is much more viable when you have a much longer time to write the story, like a whole year, because I find I sometimes get only so far, and I need to think about the next step.

Today I’ve taken the time to translate all of the notes for the forthcoming chapters into a bound notebook, with several pages for each of the chapters, allowing for a number of possible later changes.

I now feel I’m in a better place to continue.

I didn’t take very long to finish my word quota today, and with my spare time, I decided to go back over the plan and see how the second half of the book is holding up against it.

Despite my misgivings about becoming a planner for this exercise, it proved to be a good idea, particularly when you have to write a certain number of words a day to reach the target.

Last year, it was a pantser effort, and I know, at times, I struggled with continuity and found myself having to backtrack when plot changes required earlier intervention.

Writing as a pantzer is much more viable when you have a much longer time to write the story, like a whole year, because I find I sometimes get only so far, and I need to think about the next step.

Today I’ve taken the time to translate all of the notes for the forthcoming chapters into a bound notebook, with several pages for each of the chapters, allowing for a number of possible later changes.

I now feel I’m in a better place to continue.