Progress report

[altivo]

13,369 / 50,000 (26.7%)

A fourth of the way done (at least with the NaNoWriMo goal) and then some.

For those who are following, the complete text up through now is posted here. I made some tiny revisions to Chapter 5 as well, because Menander hasn't yet revealed his wings to Zeb.

Comments

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Umm, I thought editing wasn't allowed!

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

Editing is OK if the end result is additional words. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

What Charlie said. Actually, editing is just not recommended, because the idea is to plow ahead and finish. Many writers get hung up on polishing and revising and never ever finish the work. Look at the way Tolkien dragged his feet.

These were changes of less than a dozen words, actually. The significance was large though if I were to forget to fix them eventually.

[calydor.livejournal.com]

I have decided to stop reading for now; rather, I will sit down and read it in it's entirety when it is done. These little teasers every day just aren't enough. :-)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. What if I get to 50000 words and never finish? ;P The goal is just to break the 50000 barrier.

[calydor.livejournal.com]

Thugs with baseball bats, that's what.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Been there, done that. You'll have to try harder. ;P

[calydor.livejournal.com]

You forced me to do this. Never forget that.

If you don't finish the story ...

I will send fifteen dozen sugar-powered hyper ADD fifth graders into your library, then barricade the exit from outside.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*big donkey laugh*

That happens every afternoon about 3:30. One advantage of our recent rearrangement of job responsibilities is that I rarely have to be on the desks at that hour.

Fridays we get "visits" from school classes, mostly third graders. Those are actually the worst in my opinion, but I almost never have to deal with them any more.

I expect to finish the story, and I expect to make 50000 words by the 30th to meet the NaNoWriMo deadline, though I don't know if the story will be complete by then. I confess to being a bit surprised that anyone is so captivated, though. My writing pleases me, but I thought it was much too dry and scholarly for most readers.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Um, I'll get you for this. We have 70 (actual count) 4th and 5th graders in the library right this minute. Caused by a presentation on dinosaurs and archeology that we thought might bring in 20 or 25. ;P

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

*giggles and points*
I'm sorry, but it was funny. Not that I wanted such to be inflicted on you, mind.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*resists the urge to stick used bubblegum in your hair*

Not funny when you're in the middle of it, believe me. But they're gone now, and it's cold and windy out. Maybe the rest of the evening will be dull. Hope springs eternal, as they say.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Just out of canine curiosity, did you plan out the length of the chapters? I seem to be tending toward 30+ printed pages per chapter in my current style of writing. I used to write chapters more the length of the ones you are writing in, but thought it was unbecoming of an author to have 'chapters' only a few pages in length. You're definitely the voice of experience in literary matters, and my curiosity on your thoughts as a professional is quite sharply piqued (as reflected by perked ears ;p)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

There is no particular reason that chapters, sections or other divisions need be any given length. I may well rearrange the sequence in which some things are told or change the breakdown in the end. The chapter divisions right now simply represent convenient stopping points for the reader and useful units for the upload/posting process. In fact, I prefer chapters with titles rather than just numbers and will undoubtedly make changes in that respect.

Many authors make no chapter divisions at all. Some prefer short chapters with numbers, such that a book may have as many as 40 or 50 chapters, while others may have only 8 or 10 chapters for a 700 page epic. I don't think it terribly significant.