“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they go by.”
— Douglass Adams, 1951 – 2001
I had a goal to finish Genie Memories by April 30th.
So what’s the status as of May 1st? No book. Based on tonight’s progress (a net reduction of -1,001 words), one might think I’m going backwards. I’m actually going forward. Let me explain …
I made the goal when I got back from Viable Paradise in October. I figured that at the very least, I could ride the enthusiasm to crank out a first draft, because, well, ‘It’s a draft, it can suck!’ Little did I anticipate that all the stuff I learned at VP would lead me astray in the best possible fashion.
Let’s start with Theodore Steiner, the main character of Genie Memories. Who he is and his story are central to the story (being as how it’s told from the 1st Person Point of View, even more so). On the surface, the story is about revenge and power. That seemed shallow to me and kept bugging me. It wasn’t until about three weeks ago, after listening repeatedly to my One-on-Ones with Jim MacDonald and John Scalzi that I was able to piece it together. Theo finally came to life, not only on paper but inside my head.
It’s kind of nice to have the guy running around up there in my noggin. Freaky, but nice.
That’s just one part. I had trouble with the world itself. As Steven Gould told me, my 2091 didn’t look a day past 2025. So I had to do some adjustments to that, working away from the catastrophic events I knew of to the day to day bits.
It’s all been a lot of fun and the feeling of satisfaction I’ve had the past month has been great. It’s also taken up a lot of time, thereby causing me to stand and wave as April 30th goes by. I’m not terribly upset. But I don’t want to be a slacker either.
July 31st – that’s the new goal. Here’s hoping the summer will be good to me.
Moose and Ink 