Long Fiction - 1140
Poetry - unknown
Total Words - 1140+
Paragraphs of Notes - 11
Well, that didn’t exactly work out like I expected it to.
Just when I thought I was getting things back on track I got slammed with the stomach flu. So no writing at all, let alone posting, last week. I was far too busy being sick and recovering from being sick. I did get a bunch of reading in, if that counts. Maybe I should start including a weekly reading report too - after all, reading is just as important as writing when you’re an author. ;-)
Now to be completely honest, I was recovered enough by the weekend that I could have spent some time writing, and I actually planned on it, however the characters in the book I’m working on stopped for a rest after escaping from some dark elves and now they refuse to budge. And that’s pretty much my own fault.
I’m not entirely sure where exactly the elven enclave that’s been taken over by the dark elves that my heroes escaped from is, let alone how far it is to the shrine they’re supposed to be headed for. In fact, I’d never heard of the shrine until they decided to head there. Apparently it’s on an island on an inland sea.
I need a map. And I need a proper map, not one of the namby-pamby ones I drew 15-20 years ago when I first came up with the idea for this story - it was more fun working on maps and character sketches than actually writing back then. Some of the names on those maps are cringe-worthy and a lot of the places have changed. Not to mention there are a bunch of places that have been mentioned in back stories that aren’t even on those maps. I need a map like this one:
Okay, maybe not as fancy as that one, but I do need a more comprehensive idea of the lay of the land. So as a starting point I figured I could use the outlines of my old maps and just fill in new details. Only I can’t find them. I have a file folder marked “Maps” that had several pages of maps that when pieced together made a really big map, only I can’t find it. Somewhere, in the Great Office Shuffle, I seem to have misplaced it, along with all my other notes, etc. on the Moonstone Chronicle universe.
Now after a very long frustrating search I did manage to find the maps I’d traced from the smaller pages onto three really large pages, but my first thought there was - TOO BIG. Which leaves me in a bit of a dilemma. Do I keep searching for smaller maps, tearing apart filing cabinets, drawers, and offices (and probably my hair) in the process? Try and trace the pertinent sections of the huge maps onto smaller, more manageable pages and make the necessary changes? Or suck it up and just make the changes on the big maps, which would take copious amounts of white out and leave me with a really messy looking map?
As excuses go for not writing, I thought this was a pretty good one.
2 comments:
Carol, I loved this post. I am so sorry that you were sick. I am glad that you are better. I do think that you should post the number of pages read because if you don't read you can't write.
Having said all of that when we got to the maps I got the giggles. I loved watching you lay out your personal backstory and the mission with the maps. I loved the way your logic was flowing. The stream of consciousness was bright, introspective and just a little bit sassy. I was also in awe of you being able to create your own maps. Awesome!
Stay well my friend, read many pages and continue to contemplate cartography until it all feels right...at least for the moment.
Hugs, Ardee-ann
Thanks Ardee-ann!
I found a tutorial on-line for hand drawing maps and I can't wait to get to work. I'm going to use the basic outline of my original map(s) and fill in all new details...eventually. For now I'll just worry about getting enough on it to pull my story's fat out of the fire. LOL
Once I'm done though I'll have to post a picture of my finished map.
But don't hold your breath waiting. :-D
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