[anneliese] Hi Terri!
[anneliese] You did! You made it!
[bogwitch64] hehee
[anneliese] Now, hopefully, some other folks will also.
[bogwitch64] Here's hoping
[bogwitch64] Ok, while we are waiting I have to sign off this computer and onto the other. I'll be right back.
[bogwitch64] Actually, I don't have to. I'm going to minimize just a sec cause I have to check something. brb
[camidon] Howdy All!
[anneliese] Hi CM!
[anneliese] Things still as busy for you?
[camidon] How's it going this evening?
[anneliese] Going OK...a tad tired from staying up too late last night (as usual).
[anneliese] Yourself?
[camidon] Whoops, closed the wrong window, got it back though
[anneliese] I hate it when I do that
[camidon] Much better than last week. I'm not... hmm, how should I say? Not as... incoherent
[anneliese] Well, it's good that one of us isn't,
[bogwitch64] ok
[camidon] I'm slowly adjusting back to a busy schedule.
[anneliese] You're back!
[bogwitch64] I had to check my aol email for directions to my friend's house
[camidon] ha, Anneliese!
[camidon] Howdy, Terri\
[anneliese] And once you've adjusted, will the schedule slow down?
[bogwitch64] Hey there Cam!
[camidon] Yep--things will slow down a little now--no more family obligations
[bogwitch64] I just came down from a week of Girl Scout camp--whew, that was exhausting
[bogwitch64] but fun
[camidon] You can call be CM, or Chris, Terri
[bogwitch64] Ok, Chris it is--that's my son's name
[camidon] That's brave of you, Terri, way to go
[anneliese] Girls Scout camp...now that's something I haven't done in a loooooong time!
[bogwitch64] lol
[camidon] (about the girl scouts, not my name, that is)
[bogwitch64] I'm in charge of 40 program aides--12-16 year old girls. Fun stuff
[anneliese] That will keep a body busy.
[bogwitch64] :-D
[camidon] Hey, I actually wrote something for the challenge--three paragraphs...
[bogwitch64] woohoo!!
[bogwitch64] Good job, Chris
[anneliese] I'm still looking for mine...I actually wrote something years ago that sort of fits the theme, but I can't find it now.
[camidon] My short-short idea exploded into an outline of 25 scenes. I've written a third of one scene.
[bogwitch64] I've had two weeks away from my computer--not voluntarily even though it was fun stuff keeping me from writing
[anneliese] Guess I'm just going to have to write something else.
[camidon] It's no longer a short-short
[bogwitch64] That's still a lot, Chris
[anneliese] Sounds like a novel
[bogwitch64] 25 outlined scenes AND a few paragraphs--that's great!
[camidon] Couldn't you use the idea of what you wrote before?
[camidon] You make me feel so good!
[bogwitch64] Glad to be of service but I mean it--that's a wonderful accomplishment
[anneliese] Yes, I could. I could even re-write it pretty easily, but I was in a different place then than I am now.
[bogwitch64] Now WRITE those scenes
[anneliese] Yes WTG on getting that much accomplished, CM!
[camidon] Yes, writing those scenes is the next step. Must a lot time. Must a lot time.
[camidon] BTW, when was the challenge "due" anyway?
[bogwitch64] When I get time to write (which is sparse with the kids home for summer vacation) I work on Godseekers. I'm a terrible joiner of challenges
[anneliese] Technically yesterday, but since I only have 2 subs so far, I think I'll extend the challenge for a few more days.
[camidon] Ah, that makes sense Anneliese. Nothing is every truly the same again.
[bogwitch64] I usually write a good 5-6 hours a day--During the summer, it's more like three.
[anneliese] No problem, Terri, the challenges are mostly to kick some of us non-writers into gear.
[bogwitch64]
[camidon] You'll get mine eventually--these next two days are my weekends--alotting time.
[camidon] Still doing 3 hours? Okay, now I'M impressed.
[anneliese] I'm more than impressed...that's awesome!
[camidon] I write 3 pages a day, five days a week in the winter, but I do very little while working seasonally for the NPS
[bogwitch64] LOL Chris--I'm much happier when I get 6 quiet hours. Three noisy ones produce very little coherent work.
[bogwitch64] I'm lucky to have the time I want/need to write in
[bogwitch64] Thanks, anneliese
[camidon] in the summer. Way to go, Terri. You should keep sending stuff to the group. How many crits did you get for your sub?
[bogwitch64] Three pages a day is great!
[bogwitch64] I got quite a few actually
[bogwitch64] ummm...five, I think
[bogwitch64] One thing I was really looking for got answered
[anneliese] What was that?
[camidon] That's almost respectable for the group.
[bogwitch64] I'll send more, I dont' want to be a submission hog. LOL
[bogwitch64] There was a couple of lines at the very end of the chapter that I had cut then put back in on a friend's insistence
[anneliese] I'll be sending you one...just haven't had a chance to do it yet.
[bogwitch64] A few people said it was out of place and I agree
[bogwitch64] No worries, Anneliese
[anneliese] The very last two lines???
[camidon] I feel the same way, Terri, I never want to over submit, but when the spots are so dreadfully bare, I just send stuff off anyway
[bogwitch64] Yes, Anne. I took it back out again
[bogwitch64] I'll send in another chapter--tomorrow?
[bogwitch64] Whenever there's room on the docket, slip me in
[anneliese] Good. Of the whole sub, those bothered me the most. Really yanked me out of the story.
[bogwitch64] It went right into the omniscient out of nowhere
[anneliese] I have to sort out the queue, but I think if you send something to Elizabeth, she'll slot it in for you.
[bogwitch64] It stands just fine with the line that came before them
[camidon] Yep, I felt the same way, as I said in my crit. It ruined the tone you had created
[bogwitch64] I'll wait until she gets back from vacation
[camidon] Terri, what's the genesis of this story? Anything really interested.
[anneliese] Send me a note also, just to remind me that it goes into the schedule.
[camidon] oops. Anything really interesting that is.
[bogwitch64] I've spent many, many years researching folklore from around the world
[bogwitch64] It's my passion
[bogwitch64] So I decided to use all this knowledge in a book
[bogwitch64] Every character has a basis in some folktale from either Norse, Celtic, Slavic, Hindu, Christian, Greek/Roman myth
[anneliese] <== loves folklore
[bogwitch64] In this book anyway--
[bogwitch64] I'll use African and some others with the next one
[bogwitch64] The thing is, if you're familiar with the tale, you'll see it in the character or the story itself. If you're not, it's fine
[camidon] That's cool. I used Norse mythology and Wagner Operas a lot for my children's novels.
[bogwitch64] BUT, if you ARE familiar with either story or mythical character, you can see where the story is going and such
[bogwitch64] Ah, cool Chris
[anneliese] Now you really have me chomping at the bit wanting to see more!
[camidon] So what would be your "book jacket" summation of Godseekers? (does that make sense?)
[bogwitch64] ha! book jacket, huh?
[bogwitch64] Summation is not my forte
[bogwitch64] lol
[bogwitch64] LOL Anneliese
[bogwitch64] I'm really having fun with it
[camidon] Like when you pick up a book in the bookstore and read the back cover. What would that be for Godseekers?
[bogwitch64] Book jacket...hmmmm...without writing to impress, I can give you the gist of it
[camidon] I love the idea of hidden mythos is modern novels. It adds so much more depth. The only catch is that hidden mythos can't interfere with the story your trying to tell.
[bogwitch64] Yes, Cam--that has been tough
[bogwitch64] Part of the story being played out is actually the Ramayaman from Hindu mythology
[camidon] You've already impressed us with your dedication to writing, feel free to any other way!
[bogwitch64] The gist of it is, the game is a certain character's way out of 'bondage'
[bogwitch64] He has to play until he wins--which he can't, of course
[bogwitch64] In several mythological stories, there is the chained God that has to free himself but when he does, the end of the world BANGS
[bogwitch64] In Norse mythology, Loki is sort of 'bound' because he caused the death of another (favored) god
[bogwitch64] The fall of Satan, Loki, even Set in Egyptian mythology
[anneliese] (I think the neighbor's dog just found the neighborhood skunk)
[bogwitch64] ey all share many of the same elements. I've combined them into one character--Sim, who has to play the game
[bogwitch64] He's using the kids from the Ren-faire as his 'players'
[bogwitch64] ewwww!!! I hate skunk! One stunk up my basement a few years back
[anneliese] Do the kids have any sense that he is extraordinary?
[anneliese] This is so intriguing!
[bogwitch64] Not yet--
[bogwitch64] :-D, thanks Anneliese!
[bogwitch64] His opponent is the pixie thing in the tree
[camidon] This is really interesting.
[anneliese] How does the knife throwing shadow any of this...or does it?
[bogwitch64] In Celtic mythology, there is a character called Black Annis--that's her
[bogwitch64] The knife throwing scene (which I actually saw once though the guy was probably part of the act) was actually more to set up Keith's character than anything else
[bogwitch64] Thanks, Chris
[camidon] <I have a whopper of a skunk story involving a crushing teenage moment, and the worst skunk smell ever as declared by the cleaners,>
[bogwitch64] Annis has three of the kids on her 'team', Sim has the other three--but the kids don't know they are on opposing teams.
[camidon] <some other time though>
[bogwitch64] LOLOLOL Chris--now THAT is intriguing!
[camidon] One of my characters in my children's novel was the Cymbalist, Cym for short (half made of fire, half human)
[bogwitch64] At first, they're just playing an RPG in Keith's basement--then things get funky
[bogwitch64] Yadda-yadda-yadda, they end up IN the game. They think they have to follow the rules, get through the seven gates and get home. They have no idea that if Sim wins, Boom goes existence as they know it
[anneliese] Keith has noticed Annis...has anyone else at this time?
[bogwitch64] Nope--he and Annis will have a 'special' relationship. LOL
[camidon] Ah ha, things become more clear about chapter 1. Please, do send us the next installment.
[bogwitch64] Oh, cool, Chris!
[anneliese] Yes! We need to see this story play out!
[bogwitch64] will do
[camidon] Oh, he played the cymbals (I'm a succor for puns) and composed his own mass requiems.
[bogwitch64] This is the novel I'm presenting at that writer's workshop on Martha's Vineyard in the fall--I'm nervous
[bogwitch64] LOL, do you like (old) Piers Anthony Xanth novels, Chris?
[camidon] I'll need to read a little closer Chapter 1 again, give it some more time. You've really set up a complex structure..
[camidon] Only read a few, terri (A Spell for Chameleon)
[camidon] The virtual game, the real world, and then the mythyical subtext. Again, the trick is to keep them from interfereing with one another.
[bogwitch64] This is where I need help, Chris and Anneliese--keeping it all straight. I don't have a problem with structure or grammar or that kind of thing. What I worry about is getting the whole idea across. I know what's supposed to be in there and all that--I know the outline and the idea, my reader isn't
[bogwitch64] going to
[bogwitch64] A spell for Chameleon was the best one!
[camidon] Exactly. Recognizing this dilemma is the most important thing
[bogwitch64] That was a major breakthrough for me, Chris
[bogwitch64] RECOGNIZING
[camidon] That's what I heard, so I read it. It was fun, but I was never motivated to read more. Any others I should partake
[bogwitch64] Eh, the first five or so are awesome--then they become tiresome
[anneliese] You'll want to feed us chapters frequently. That way we'll have a better sense of the whole story and be able to see if these things are working.
[bogwitch64] Then there's Terri Pratchet!!! If you love satire, you'll love his stuff.
[anneliese] I agree. The early Xanth stories were much better than the later ones.
[camidon] I'll try to make enough time to give C1 and C2 some thought. I fully understand the difficult of weaving subplots and mythos.
[bogwitch64] Anneliese, I think you're right--it's hard to keep it all straigh when it's piecemeal
[bogwitch64] have a hard time remembering Juanita's story when there are weeks in between
[anneliese] How far along are you with the project?
[bogwitch64] I'll send another chapter in tomorrow and whenever Elizabeth gets it in, she gets it in.
[bogwitch64] I've got the first section done--about 100 pages
[anneliese] And the rest outlined/mapped?
[bogwitch64] The whole thing is outlined, yes
[bogwitch64] I know exactly where it's going and how
[bogwitch64] LOL, the outline and synopsis is 160 pages!
[anneliese] One thing that helped when Elizabeth was sending out her novel was that she included a 3-4 paragraph synopsis of each preceding chapter.
[camidon] Are those double spaced or not?
[camidon] Yeah, good point, Anneliese!
[bogwitch64] That would be helpful, A
[camidon] Those brief synopsises are a big help
[bogwitch64] The synopsis/outline is single spaced but the manuscript is double
[anneliese] You guys are shaming me into outlining
[bogwitch64] lol, it's very necessary for me, A
[camidon] My outlines are similar, Terri. It's nice to know someone else is a meticulous (or is there another word for that...)
[bogwitch64] I was a 'pantser' for years but I have to say, outlining makes the whole process much smoother
[bogwitch64] meticulous=anal lol
[camidon] I agree! A fellow outlining kindred spirit!
[bogwitch64] I often don't stick to the outline but it gives me a place to start, a place to refer to if I stray
[bogwitch64] LOL Chris!
[anneliese] I generally have the whole story written in my head before it comes out on paper, but I acknowledge the value of outlining. I'm going to try it with my next project.
[camidon] I suppose my 25 outlined scenes for the writing challenge short-short didn't give me away, huh?
[bogwitch64] It's worth trying, A.
[bogwitch64] LOL
[bogwitch64] just a little
[anneliese] Not at all! LOL!
[camidon] When it doesn't work, A, feel free to use my name with a few coloful adjectives before it.
[bogwitch64] lol
[camidon]
[anneliese] lol, because you know it's going to work, don't you.
[bogwitch64] I have 19 finished first drafts that I wrote basically without a real outline. The prospect of editing them is DAUNTING!
[bogwitch64] That's why I started outlining so 'meticulously'--less editing in the long run
[camidon] my thoughts exactly.
[bogwitch64] If I never have another idea, I have about 10 years of novels to work with! LOL
[bogwitch64] Wow, this hour went fast!
[anneliese] Oh, my, it did!