I know I've said this many, many times (more times than I want to count, really), but I think I've figured out part of my problem with my voice in The Witch of November: I feel like I'm being too verbose.
When I read through the first chapter, I get this, "Get on with it" reaction. Which, clearly, is not the reaction I want. I feel like it's too much exposition and not enough action, even though the exposition is kind of necessary.
Like before with my needless drama issue, I now have to figure out how to provide enough exposition so that my eventual readers will have some clue as to what's going on, but not enough to bog down the whole chapter.
Wish me luck.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Writing Exercise #7
Legit, I wrote this in like, ten minutes. I have absolutely no idea where it came from.
Prompt: motorcycle
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Character(s): Olivia Benson, Casey Novak
-----
“You’ve been on the back of a motorcycle?” Olivia Benson asked, raising her eyebrows at Casey Novak.
“I think I’m offended that you look so shocked,” Casey snickered as she poured more wine into her glass. She motioned to top off Olivia’s glass, but the detective shook her head, indicating that she’d had enough for the moment.
“It’s not that I’m shocked--” Casey raised a single eyebrow at the detective, who smiled sheepishly. “All right, it’s that I’m shocked. When were you on the back of a motorcycle?”
“Right when Charlie first started getting sick,” she answered. When Olivia winced, Casey waved a dismissive hand. “No, this is actually a fun memory. Looking back in it, I suppose I should have realized something was going on, but at the time, it just seemed like he was being impulsive.”
“What’d he do?”
“He’d had his eye on a motorcycle for a couple of months, but I’d always managed to talk him out of buying it. One day, he came by my apartment, rang the buzzer, and told me to come outside. When I got downstairs, he was sitting on it; he’d bought it right before he came to see me. He told me to hop on, so I did. I mean, all we did was drive around the block a couple of times, but yes, I have been on the back of a motorcycle. So there.”
Olivia smiled. “Did you like it?”
“Not particularly,” Casey laughed. “It was fun that once, but he drove a little fast for my tastes. Maybe it would have been different if I’d been driving--you know me, always like to be in control--but I didn’t know how. Still don’t, actually.”
“Eh, you’re not missing much.”
Casey’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You know how to drive a motorcycle?”
Olivia gave the ADA a wide grin, snatched the bottle of wine from Casey’s desk, and topped off her glass. “Why, Counselor, I think I’m offended that you look so shocked.”
Prompt: motorcycle
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Character(s): Olivia Benson, Casey Novak
-----
“You’ve been on the back of a motorcycle?” Olivia Benson asked, raising her eyebrows at Casey Novak.
“I think I’m offended that you look so shocked,” Casey snickered as she poured more wine into her glass. She motioned to top off Olivia’s glass, but the detective shook her head, indicating that she’d had enough for the moment.
“It’s not that I’m shocked--” Casey raised a single eyebrow at the detective, who smiled sheepishly. “All right, it’s that I’m shocked. When were you on the back of a motorcycle?”
“Right when Charlie first started getting sick,” she answered. When Olivia winced, Casey waved a dismissive hand. “No, this is actually a fun memory. Looking back in it, I suppose I should have realized something was going on, but at the time, it just seemed like he was being impulsive.”
“What’d he do?”
“He’d had his eye on a motorcycle for a couple of months, but I’d always managed to talk him out of buying it. One day, he came by my apartment, rang the buzzer, and told me to come outside. When I got downstairs, he was sitting on it; he’d bought it right before he came to see me. He told me to hop on, so I did. I mean, all we did was drive around the block a couple of times, but yes, I have been on the back of a motorcycle. So there.”
Olivia smiled. “Did you like it?”
“Not particularly,” Casey laughed. “It was fun that once, but he drove a little fast for my tastes. Maybe it would have been different if I’d been driving--you know me, always like to be in control--but I didn’t know how. Still don’t, actually.”
“Eh, you’re not missing much.”
Casey’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You know how to drive a motorcycle?”
Olivia gave the ADA a wide grin, snatched the bottle of wine from Casey’s desk, and topped off her glass. “Why, Counselor, I think I’m offended that you look so shocked.”
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Writing Exercise #6
I took a write-break for a couple of weeks, partly due to the holidays and holiday prep but mostly because I just wasn't feeling the writing thing. I'm still not, to be honest, but I know I need to get back into it. Because the weeks will turn into months, and I have too much work still to do to allow the break to stretch into a lull.
So I now present the return of the writing exercises. I started this prompt two other times, in different fandoms, before settling on original characters. And I think this is the first exercise where I didn't use the word itself in the vignette:
Prompt: driven
Fandom: original characters (The Witch of November)
Character(s): Lillian Blackstone
-----
Damn it, it didn’t work. Again.
Lillian Blackstone had no idea why the ritual wasn’t working. Lillian knew it worked all the time for Millie. She’d been there right in Millie’s parlor when the other woman performed the ritual and talked to her Caleb. After learning of the trouble Lillian was having, Millie had even tried to contact Josiah for her, but she couldn’t find him, either.
Odd, that. Why was Caleb so readily available and Josiah was nowhere to be found? It didn’t seem fair, not at all. Poor Millie didn’t have any answers to give, but then Lillian didn’t expect her to. The other woman wasn’t an expert, after all. She’d only been doing this a couple of years herself.
The two of them had an appointment in two days in Portland with Constance, the medium who taught Millie how to contact Caleb. Hopefully she’d be able to find Josiah, and if not, she should at least be able to point Lillian towards someone who could.
Failing that, Lillian would just have to start researching on her own.
Millie had more than once warned against that course of action because the forces they were using could be unpredictable. Clearly the way around that was to invite the other woman to study with her, and they could research together. Millie had been expressing interest lately in trying to see what other events she could make happen. After all, a circle of candles was all it took to talk to her dead husband. Who knew what else they could do with some candles and herbs and incantations?
And as for Lillian, all she wanted was to know that her husband was okay. Was that too much to ask?
Clearly, the answer was yes.
Lillian sighed and blew out the candles, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, Josiah,” she murmured, “where are you?”
So I now present the return of the writing exercises. I started this prompt two other times, in different fandoms, before settling on original characters. And I think this is the first exercise where I didn't use the word itself in the vignette:
Prompt: driven
Fandom: original characters (The Witch of November)
Character(s): Lillian Blackstone
-----
Damn it, it didn’t work. Again.
Lillian Blackstone had no idea why the ritual wasn’t working. Lillian knew it worked all the time for Millie. She’d been there right in Millie’s parlor when the other woman performed the ritual and talked to her Caleb. After learning of the trouble Lillian was having, Millie had even tried to contact Josiah for her, but she couldn’t find him, either.
Odd, that. Why was Caleb so readily available and Josiah was nowhere to be found? It didn’t seem fair, not at all. Poor Millie didn’t have any answers to give, but then Lillian didn’t expect her to. The other woman wasn’t an expert, after all. She’d only been doing this a couple of years herself.
The two of them had an appointment in two days in Portland with Constance, the medium who taught Millie how to contact Caleb. Hopefully she’d be able to find Josiah, and if not, she should at least be able to point Lillian towards someone who could.
Failing that, Lillian would just have to start researching on her own.
Millie had more than once warned against that course of action because the forces they were using could be unpredictable. Clearly the way around that was to invite the other woman to study with her, and they could research together. Millie had been expressing interest lately in trying to see what other events she could make happen. After all, a circle of candles was all it took to talk to her dead husband. Who knew what else they could do with some candles and herbs and incantations?
And as for Lillian, all she wanted was to know that her husband was okay. Was that too much to ask?
Clearly, the answer was yes.
Lillian sighed and blew out the candles, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, Josiah,” she murmured, “where are you?”
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