kayqy: Teito peruses the stacks... with INTENT. (greeneyes)
Yesterday and today are basically sorting through what I've got and seeing what I've left out. Tying up loose ends and so on. I've basically been alternating between brainstorming stuff I haven't figured out yet and writing random scenes: some backstory folktale-ish stuff, some random prompts and scenes that just insisted on being recorded for posterity.

Some things I've been working on:

~Swearwords. I make things harder on me to begin with by not wanting to use the basic four-letter cusswords, but I also want to make sure that what they do use makes sense for their world. They're not going to use Jesus' name in vain, for instance, who's he? :P So far my favorite is "son of a goatsucker" (which also means that there is an animal that preys on the goats and antelope that are so abundant in this world, bwahaha). I also like, "Well, aren't you the Journeyman's own ____" —haven't quite figured out what to put in that blank. Boots? Socks? And "useful as a mute songbird" might be a nicely awkward epithet for Vester to accidentally use around Paori... >:D

~Tried to figure out taboos and sexual mores etc., but couldn't really get anything that meshed. Trying too hard, I think.

~Same with the family structures. I meant to have fairly tight family structures, but the emphasis I'm placing now on people being disconnected from each other seems to clash with that. But making people completely callous without any connection to each other at all seems too forced. :\

~Decided that there is a demonplague of sorts, since I really need something concrete for people to turn to the church for. So their worldly power derived muchly from being the ones in their culture to apply the correct protection from this wasting disease. Though other cultures have their own variations, too. (and there might be another use there for the crystals....)

~Also decided I need another group of people in the east coast of the continent: they've eschewed magic altogether and live in the swampy southeast, mostly, even more cut off from other people than the other cultures. I think Flynn the archaeologist might be a misfit from this people. In fact, the fact that most of my main characters have a tendency towards travelling makes them all misfits.

*bounces* nearly done~!
kayqy: Teito peruses the stacks... with INTENT. (greeneyes)
The other day I mentioned being stuck in the Mirey Middle of my current project. It's a tough place to be. You know that somewhere in the future, this story has the potential to be awesome, but all you see for miles and miles is pointless dreck. At this point, all you can do is slog on, but anything seems a better use of your time. That sewing project you've been putting off for months. Making a playlist for your next story.

That's where I was, all right. (Observant readers may have noticed that I used the past tense. Less observant readers, this parenthetical statement is for you.) But for all my procrastinating, I knew that the only way out was through. And so, Wednesday night, I made myself write. Just a little. A hundred words, I told myself, and I could go to bed without guilt.

A hundred words became four hundred. And somehow, in the midst of ridiculous dialogue about ranch dressing, an idea formed. Coalesced. An event that I knew needed to happen soon, but couldn't figure out how, came to life. And just the thought of getting to write this scene so filled me with shiny and squee that I fell in love with this story all over again. ^.^ And then, just to prove the moment of epiphany wasn't a fluke, I got another idea— this time, a subplot for the characters that need more to do in this story. The book, it comes together!

Now, this isn't to say that my slogging days are completely over. Epiphany #1 involves a concept/theme that I've not done more than toy with, and that will take a lot of effort to work in, and not just have it pop in and out of existence. Epiphany #2 involves relationship drama that I find awkward and painful, and I'll have to work hard not to just sitcom the problems away. So this isn't exactly the light at the end of the tunnel. But at least I've been reminded that this is a tunnel, and not an oubliette.


(In other news, my mood icons are terribly distracting. This post has taken twice as long as it should have because I can't stop staring at that adorable bouncing bunny. ^^;; )

Profile

kayqy: The plot jackalope! (Default)
Quimi

July 2013

S M T W T F S
 1 23456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031   

Useful and Interesting Links!

Crafty Links!

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 13th, 2025 12:46 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios