[renmerc446]

Finally went through what I have so far in my story and will be writing new material going forward. I'll probably use some stuff from previous drafts. But I do have a better idea of the characters and how some of their GMCs intersect which will hopefully make the plot a lot easier to write.

 

[renmerc446]

Sigh. Didn't write yesterday. Between work, cleaning up my apartment, and having to go to the pharmacy to pick up med, I ended up being out of sorts. The heat and humidity up until Saturday night didn't help matters. Yeah, I know - excuses, excuses. I did get a little bit done here and there during the week.

I have to get a bit more cleaning done tonight as well (mostly just washing counters and floors). I just hope I won't be so brain-fried by the time that's done that I might be able to at least try and open the draft up. If not, I'll try again tomorrow evening. At least I'm starting to try and write on more days than just Sundays now.

 

[Spirit Deer]

I always thought stuff like cleaning, as long as it's ONLY cleaning, is good for writing. It's mindless with just enough activity to allow a good flow of creative ideas.

I've always found if my workspace is tidied, I do better with my writing. Otherwise it's a distraction. Of course, I've never been any good at keeping it cleaned up.

 

[renmerc446]

Unfortunately, this is a 'must be done' sort of cleaning. Some sort of mandatory inspection for the apartment complex. I'm sure that many people will get ding'd by something during the inspection since many people have been working from home during the pandemic.

 

[Spirit Deer]

That seems intrusive, but I suppose it protects the owners' investment, avoids hoarding situations, gets rid of fire hazards, uncovers repairs that need to be made, etc. I actually sort of like deadlines because it forces me to get things done.

Why would working from home cause problems?

 

[renmerc446]

I was thinking people may have more paperwork/clutter in the house due to working from home rather than in an office and homeschooling (for those who have kids). I know I didn't take out boxes things were shipped in as often as I should have since I wasn't getting out of the house as much as I had been. Also the possibility of multiple computers for work and/or school they might not usually have set up if they work from an office.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Personal property shouldn't be an issue unless it's some kind of hazard. Nobody can reasonably complain about work and school stuff around.

When we leased our house in Minneapolis, I told the landlord outright the house wouldn't be kept spotless, since I suck at housekeeping. Then I took a bunch of stuff out of the lease we didn't want to agree to. He signed off on all of it. We found out later he wanted us as renters because we'd been homeowners. It made me wonder what else we could have removed from the lease. LOL It didn't matter in the end because we bought the house a year later.

 

[renmerc446]

There was a fire in the complex that burned down one of the other buildings so I think they may be a bit more sensitive about fire hazards. That and people have been leaving stuff out in the halls, dumping garbage bags NEXT to the garbage bins and not actually in them. Stuff like that.

 

[renmerc446]

Got some more writing done Sunday and Monday. Only about 30-40 minutes each day but at least it's something.

 

[renmerc446]

Haven't really been doing well on getting any writing done recently. Although last weekend, I was talking with someone about my story (the basic background of it) and he gave me a great idea that I can work with. It's a location that I had totally forgotten about but totally works for my story. I need to do more research on the background of the place (it was an actual location in real life but was demolished years ago) but that might even help give me more ideas to work with. And it's relatively close so I can take a look at the area in person. I think it fits better with what I had in mind for my story and I don't have to create the place out of nothing.

 

[marthamfi]

nice! you can't do much in heat and humidity. I think it is good for place to keep on top of things with in reason. cus I have lived in places where bugs etc just from one place. one sm apt building.. guy bought in his own fridge and cockroaches.. owner had the place for decades and no problems until then. I used to home school plus work from home. you do have to keep on top of things place for everything storage etc but then keeping w hubby and kids clutter is full time job lol

 

[Spirit Deer]

It's very helpful if you can a visit a real place. And if it's conveniently been demolished, you have a golden opportunity to embellish the place however you like.

I haven't been writing. But, like every year, I'm thinking about NaNo. Probably, like every year, I won't do anything about it. Still, I'm in the mood to kill a bunch of people, and NaNo would provide me with a 50,000 word opportunity to do so. Fictionally speaking, of course.

 

[renmerc446]

SD - kill the darlings. Fictionally speaking, of course.

I tried to find the location today. I do know the general area, I just didn't google directions before I left this morning. Couldn't do GPS since I didn't have a local address to put into the system. On the other hand, I know it's been covered in a magazine that covers local folklore and weird instate stuff. So I can pull up pictures when I'm writing. Still, I like having the chance to get a general vibe of the area. I should go to a couple places I know that have some older buildings, preferably colonial and victorian era houses and the like to get those vibes as well.

 

[renmerc446]

Did spend some time trying to write yesterday. It ended up being more tweaking what I already had than adding anything new. I wanted to make sure that I had included the new location earlier in the story or at least make sure things were consistent. So I ended up re-reading what I had so far. I'm nearly to the point where I'm pretty sure a description of the new location (I'm basically moving it from one side of a river to the other) will come into play.

Good thing about yesterday is that I spent some time on my story like I normally do then decided to take a bit of a nap. (Yay, Sunday naps!!) But instead of closing out of the story like I normally would, I kept it open and then went back to it when I got up again. (Ended up mostly dozing, rather than actual sleep.) Every little bit helps.

 

[renmerc446]

Got a little bit done on my story today. Only a paragraph but it's a new paragraph. But I did think of something new that I can use as a hook that I hope will help me get over the writer's block I've got at the moment. I've been doing some quick searches on folklore topics in my spare time and I found something recently on a historical/archaeological site that stuck in my head. It works well with the story and makes a great in-story macguffin.

 

[renmerc446]

Jotted down some notes for my WIP. Had an idea that will likely help tie some things together. It gives one of the MCs a better reason for being in the area and for why the MCs in general are focusing their search in their own area, rather than somewhere else. (Couldn't make the searching somewhere else part work in a previous draft. It may play out later.)

 

[Spirit Deer]

The devil is in the details.

 

[renmerc446]

Spent part of Saturday driving around the area I'm using as a basis for my WIP. I hadn't really been up in that area since the start of the pandemic (other than the living history farm). So I wanted to get a sense of the area again. (And get out of the house since I generally don't do much of that either these days.) That was nice. Even the detour I had to take at one point was useful since I saw areas I wouldn't have otherwise gone to.

Spent more time writing yesterday, although didn't get much volume done. I had an idea which works well for the story, so I went back and started "weaving" it into what I already had done. But this idea gives the MCs a reason to go out and do things as well as a better reason for asking questions.

 

[renmerc446]

Got the beta PDF version of the Deck of Worlds over the weekend. It looks good so far. I haven't had a chance to print it out and use them yet. I'm looking forward to trying them out, though. The actual deck won't be shipped out until sometime next year. (I can't remember exactly when, although it was posted somewhere.)

The Deck of Worlds is based on (and is similar to) the Story Engine Deck. But it's for settings/locations, rather than characters. The SED helped flesh out my characters' Goals and Motivations so I'm certain that the DoW will help with the locations. I think part of my problem is trying to figure out where the MCs need to go at some point. The story is set 15 years post-Apocalypse so things have cropped up in that 'time'.

I did get some more writing done, again going through what I have so far, rather than new material. But it was stuff that annoyed me. I had an idea that will help going forward, reasons for the MCs to go places and look into things, so I had to thread that new plot idea into what I had. This way I can get rid of a couple things that didn't make sense, mostly info-dumping a relevant political situation in front of the two 'newcomers'.

 

[renmerc446]

I printed and cut out the Deck of World 'cards' the last few days. (It's still in beta testing so it's not in the final card format yet). I took it for a test 'spin' of sorts last night. I do like it, although having it in smaller form on paper is a frustrating. Thankfully, the final cardstock version will be a lot better, since it will be similar to the Story Engine Deck in size and feel. Printing it out on paper is the trade-off for getting the beta version, especially since the final version won't be out until next year.

It flows well and is just as easy to use as the Story Engine Deck (which I love for character and prompt creation). I'm not exactly following directions as written but that's ok. The final version will make it easier to shuffle the deck(s). Right now, I need more space to spread things out and time to focus on making more settings for my story.