Day 6: Short Story Marathon

Summary

Got up early and went back to “Woody and June vs. the Grand Canyon.” Corrected my misstep and threw out and redrafted a lot of the end. I had moved the character’s relationship a tad too fast, and missed great opportunities for drama and humor at the end. Which, is why it didn’t feel like the end. It has to have both of those qualities. I was tired when I wrote that section and really wanted the story to wrap. The story is weighing in at 6,000 words now, which is too long for this challenge, but it’s a fun one. Read it Aleia and she loved it. I’ve a got a bit to fix involving season, but almost there.

Started a new story, “Home in Time.” While on my run yesterday I had an idea about taking a story about a magical watch that I wrote last month, “Forgiveness in Time,” and turning it into a series of interlocking stories. Actually the idea was Aleia’s, what occurred to me on the run was a interesting way for it to all fit together. So from that  first story I had another character’s name and description and knew where he was when he handed the watch off to the “Forgiveness in Time” character. I started on it, but have been plagued with doubts. Making the stories connect creates a lot of constraints on the ending, but more that, something doesn’t feel right.

So I just did what I should have done in the first place, I went back and looked at “Forgiveness in Time.” It’s written in first person and I started this new story in the third person, and  I used the wrong name for this new story’s protagonist. Aaaaaaaa!!!!

Part of me wants to freak out about this, but if I slow down and think about it it’s clear that: 1) I’m only 1,000 words in, I can scrap what I’ve written and start over or just move on; 2) There is no penalty for making a “mistake” (quotes intentional); and 3) is there any reason to be so serious about this?

And lesson learned, at least glance at the original story even if you just wrote it.

Stats for Today

Strategies Employed: Gave a story a little room to breath. Serialized stories.

Lessons Learned: Words are cheap, throw them out if they don’t work. When stories connect, check the existing story first before moving on (duh). Don’t Panic.

Words Written: 2200

Hours: 2.75

Stories Sent to Dean: 0

Story Summary