I've been meaning to go over my outline for the 3-day for a while now -- pretty much ever since I wrote it up. As I suspected on the onset, the timing of the long week-end really sucks. I am rather busy with work at the moment. So I need to get a bit more of a grip of what needs to be absolutely done before the clock starts ticking. Here's my list of to dos.
1) Name my damn characters. I have the names for the flapper, the villain, the scholar, and the god. Dahlia has a posse of people who party, and I need to be able to call them something consistently. The villain also has at least one helper, but I'd rather have a whole troupe of cultists.
*Bonus Round* Have some descriptions figured out.
2) I have got to come up with a better role for my small dark god. I am not satisfied with what his worshipers think he is going to do, and this is stretching my imagination.
*Bonus Round* Adjust outline to accommodate for awesome new godlike powers.
3) Research flapper life. Aside from wikipedia, I have done no research. Foolish, foolish me.
*Bonus Round* Download some music appropriate for the times.
Thursday is my deadline for my work revisions, so at the very least, I can spend Friday gearing up properly, but I'd rather not just have one day to accomplish these things. It's a short list, but numbers two and three could take a lot of time.
This shit creek just keeps flowing more and more swiftly.
So, here's the silver lining: While I'm working so diligently on my assigned revisions I will be developing skills applicable to this 3-Day Novel. I will be writing, after all, and that's probably the most important thing to practice. Things like pacing and tension will be in the fore of my mind, and these are absolutely crucial to a 30,000 word work. Since my current writing project is a juvenile fiction novel, we try to keep the pacing swift and the action immediate. I'll be attempting to duplicate that with Dahlia's story. Plus, with five chapters to revise in two days (more or less) I'll be pushing myself to keep my work levels high, which will come in handy this week-end.
Well, I feel better. A little panicked, but better nonetheless.
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5 comments:
As far as your dark god goes, I'd say that his followers don't need to have the first idea what he's after. I'd say let them worship him out of pure naughtiness.
Another thing I seriously suggest is to reduce the number of characters in your book. It sounds like you have a cast of dozens.
After my third go-through on the outline, I discovered I needed to reduce my number of characters dramatically if I wanted to give any of them stage time.
But that just may be my issue.
I think you can have a cast of dozens, as long as most of the cast are trying to prove that there are no small roles, only small actors.
If you only have two or three main characters, and especially if they're together most of the time, you can have them briefly meet all kinds of people without worrying about screen time or going off in too many directions.
G-
Yeah, I think you can have a fair number of walk-ons and small parts, but I think you need to focus the attention on one or two main characters like.
We don't have time to Wouk the line.
Wow, that is just a terrible joke.
re: characters and the like. The people that Dahlia spends time with aren't going to figure prominently in the story. I need to give the impression that she's popular and well-liked, and has a lot of people that cling on to her. I should be able to have a few names and faces that give that impression. That will really be there only role.
*their* only role. Sheesh.
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