Hey Folks,
Well, I finished the novel.
A very strange process on this one that I hope I will never repeat. I think taking the day off yesterday helped a lot.
I almost took today off too. I was thinking about writing a short story today, but then a transition for the current story came to mind. Kind of a missing link. (grin)
I sat down, applied the transition, then just kept typing. And as has always happened before, the story ended where it was supposed to.
Once I started typing, I hit my stride at just over 1000 words per hour.
* * *
To follow up on yesterday’s “Write What You Mean” here’s something similar for you.
Topic: Human Parts Do Not Have Human Traits
This topic doesn’t favor any particular body part, really. And most of these aren’t as humorous as “her eyes drifted around the room and eventually lit in the corner on a barrel of nails.” But some of them are pretty good.
Basically, any time any body part is the subject of a sentence, you probably need to recast the sentence.
At least in the example that got me started yesterday (The baron … raked his eyes across everyone at the table) the human, the baron, was actually performing the action.
Had the writer written, “The baron’s eyes raked across everyone at the table” it would have been doubly awkward.
‘Cause eyes can’t do that. The baron wouldn’t do it, but his eyes can’t do it.
Only in certain, very specific circumstances can eyes do anything on their own.
If eyes ever legitimately “shoot across the room,” their owner better have been slapped in the back of the head with great force a split second earlier. Just sayin’.
So don’t write stuff like
Close to the window, his ears heard an eerie sound.
Her nose (or her palms or her forehead) pressed up against the glass.
Her hands (or hips or butt or forearm) leaned on the rail of the ship.
His hand crept along the back of the seat and eventually made it to her shoulder.
As her left hand held the forestock firmly, her right hand worked the lever on the 30-30.
As my hands ran past my ears, I felt something in my ear lobes.
Tossing my hand across the couch’s back with studied casualness, I attempted to initiate the usual subtle encircling movement but to no avail.
Chloe’s head went up and down.
Bill’s face broke into a grin that wouldn’t stop.
His eyes roamed across the room, stopping at a table with no empty chairs.
His face turned deadly silent.
His long muscular legs effortlessly loped after the bus.
Her eyes slowly climbed the tree.
Her legs raced frantically down the street.
“A place called Valentino’s,” he said as his eyes touched hers.
And as a bonus, here’s one of my favorite oddities, although this doesn’t fit the “human parts don’t have human traits” category. This is from an email I received a few years ago: “I hate to miss your class, but I’m leaving town unexpectedly tomorrow.”
You get the idea.
Today, and Writing
Rolled out late at 4:30 after a pretty rough night. But it’s a new day. (grin)
I messed around up at the house until around 9:30, then headed out to the Hovel. I had an idea for a transition. Maybe this will be it.
10 a.m., to the novel.
Writing almost steadily, with a couple of short breaks, I finished the novel at 1:17. Woohoo! On to the next story!
Back tomorrow.
Of Interest
Dean mentions the beginning of the new season of The Voice. All I’ve seen on the show personally is a reiteration of what I already know.
Fiction Words: 2994
Nonfiction Words: 630 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 3624
Writing of Will Perkins (novel, working title)
Day 1…… 4219 words. Total words to date…… 4219
Day 2…… 4003 words. Total words to date…… 8222
Day 3…… 3383 words. Total words to date…… 11605
Day 4…… 3124 words. Total words to date…… 14729
Day 5…… 3373 words. Total words to date…… 18102
Day 6…… 2294 words. Total words to date…… 20396
Day 7…… 3102 words. Total words to date…… 23498
Day 8…… 2578 words. Total words to date…… 26076
Day 9…… 2111 words. Total words to date…… 28187
Day 10… 2561 words. Total words to date…… 30748
Day 11… 4073 words. Total words to date…… 34821
Day 12… 1721 words. Total words to date…… 35648
Day 13… 3289 words. Total words to date…… 38937
Day 14… 2311 words. Total words to date…… 41248
Day 15… 2262 words. Total words to date…… 43510
Day 16… 2046 words. Total words to date…… 45556
Day 17… 4189 words. Total words to date…… 49745
Day 18… 4758 words. Total words to date…… 54503
Day 19… 2648 words. Total words to date…… 57178
Day 20… 2231 words. Total words to date…… 59409
Day 21… 2010 words. Total words to date…… 61419
Day 22… 4147 words. Total words to date…… 65566
Day 23… 2010 words. Total words to date…… 67576
Day 24… 1976 words. Total words to date…… 69552
Day 25… 2728 words. Total words to date…… 72280
Day 26… 1217 words. Total words to date…… 73497
Day 27… 2994 words. Total words to date…… 76491 (done)
Total fiction words for the month……… 59256
Total fiction words for the year………… 151866
Total nonfiction words for the month… 16900
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 36590
Total words for the year (fiction and nonfiction)…… 188456