Tired and Carter Hall Report

[mrissa]

I hit a wall of tired on Friday and have not yet recovered from it. Today is better than Saturday, but not better than yesterday. This is the level of tired where I get down to do the portion of my PT that involves lying on the floor and have difficulty convincing myself to get up again. Have been eating, hydrating, and exercising normally. Also have been drinking tea and napping in hopes that tired does not segue into sick. (I'm not feeling sick. I just know that when I'm exhausted for no particular reason, it's not a bad idea to have a little extra rest and a little extra Vitamin C.)

Wrote another chapter of The True Tale of Carter Hall today and am working on another yet. I've belatedly noticed myself doing some things I didn't do intentionally in this. I didn't sit down and say, "What can I write where the heroine has a best friend who behaves like a real best friend, and not a sidekick or a convenient appendage or a plot device?" But I really like the way Janet and Ang are. I really like the way they bounce off each other. I like the way that Ang worries about Janet in the long-term as well as the short-term. I like the way that they are each other's reality check. I like the way that not everything in Janet's life relates to the plot, that she has relationships before the book begins that will extend until after the book ends, and that are never really about convenience of meaningful events.

You can ask me again in another 10K, but what I'm saying is, I like what I'm doing here.

Comments

[songwind.livejournal.com]

This was something I noticed about the writer's groups I tried out. When someone tried something like that (character interactions that are not about plot) they always got smacked down with "what has that got to do with the plot?"

I always thought that was more than a little myopic.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Generally myopic, yep, if that's really what the problem is. Among other things, it depends heavily on story length. But in this case, for example, Janet has to have a place to stay when she's in the Cities, and of course she'd stay with Ang. It can work with the plot without being about the plot, if that makes sense.

[songwind.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see what you mean, there. I thought you meant the sort of thing where your characters argue about the way one of them lost the big ballgame or whatever that has nothing to do with the plot, that kind of thing.

I like it when that sort of device is used to illustrate facets of the characters' personalities, so when those things come up you don't need some tedious monologue about how John was really an okay guy, who was always ready to forgive his friends their trespasses. You already told the story.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

There's a reason a supercategory of fiction writers is storytellers, not plotadvancers. Something that may not advance the plot may well tell the story.

On the other hand, if you have smart critiquers saying of part of a longish story (novella or novel), "I didn't really get what this part had to do with the story," probably you have not made the argument about the way one of them lost the big ballgame entertaining enough. Which is a different problem than the one they stated, but is still a problem you want to know about.

Even smart critiquers often misidentify the solution to the problem, since they are not inside the writer's head. They may say, "This part of Chapter 6 made no sense," but Chapter 6 is fine, it's the stuff you didn't put in Chapter 4 that's the problem.

But smart critiquers are crucial.

[prettymuchpeggy.livejournal.com]

I am blaming my general ho-home tired feeling squarely on allergy season, the wacky barometer and early cool weather that makes me want to hibernate.

Good that your characters are not just plopped down into the universe with no baggage (good or ill).

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Sometimes one feels short of alternatives, though.

[zwol.livejournal.com]

I am in favor of in-book best friends who behave like real best friends. And I am delighted to hear that writing is being fun. 'Cos it should. See.