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Project: Napoleonic Era Arthurian Romance With A Happy Ending
Deadline: Labor Day-ish
New words written: since my last update? 4733
Present total word count: 59479
Mean things: A friend aggrieved on another's behalf; a school friend unhappy in her marriage
Fun things: Drunken little brother. Grandmama delivering an acid set-down to a jerkface brother-in-law. Girlish gossip. Winter jasmine.
Stimulants: Iced coffee this morning; Naughty Nurse ale last night.
I have not been in the throes of inspiration, but I have been getting things done. I've been doing the trick with the timer again, 20 or 30 minutes writing, a ten-minute break, and back to writing again. I did that ALL DAY today, from roughly noon until nine or ten at night. That carried me through the entire wedding scene, and all the way to the bride preparing for bed, with her best friend brushing her hair and bearing her company.
Yesterday (or was it two days ago?) I knocked out the scene where the viscount's friend berates him for the effect his marriage will have on the lieutenant. That was another one for the timer, mostly because it was so emotionally loaded.
My beta continues to be awesome. When I said "I have NO IDEA how much wedding needs to get shown between the Aggrieved conversation" (which takes place two days prior to the wedding) "and the wedding night" (which I wrote months ago) "help?"
So she said "well, you know who's AT the wedding, right? Figure out what they all have to say, and then winnow it down to what's relevant to the plot?"
Readers, I dumped a BULLETED LIST on her, of all Rabbit's Friends And Relations, and their opinions on the marriage, and she helped me zero in on the greedy brother-in-law whose kid is liable to be knocked out of line as the heir (as soon as our heroine has a boy, which is in no way a given at the time of the wedding), and the bride's best friend's marriage, and then everything kind of fell into place. It gave the acid-tongued grandmama another chance to show off, and the other relatives to be benevolent, and the aggrieved friend did the gentlemanly thing and gave a very nice toast, though he had refused to be best man (although I never worked that detail in; if I can get it there in editing, I will, but otherwise it can stay as it is).
The thirteen-year-old brother who got drunk by draining his glass on all the toasts just sort of happened while I was writing today. He didn't disgrace himself -- his mother noticed and cut him off before anything dreadful could happen. But, oh lord, I've SEEN that kid so many times at weddings (and bar mitzvahs) with open bars. I may have been that kid once or twice, because my great-aunts were a TERRIBLE influence, for which I am forever grateful -- seriously, if you're going to get foolishly drunk at a young age, one's doting great-aunties are much safer company than teenage boys, and then after that you've got some idea what your tolerance is. And, back when I were a lass, the alcohol control training for caterers was a lot looser, and the general rule seemed to be, if you were wearing a cocktail dress and heels, they'd serve you. :) So, in the late Georgian era, I'm sure the rules were even looser!
Except for a paragraph or two to establish the POV shift, I am now caught up through the wedding night. I am REALLY getting close to the end!
Deadline: Labor Day-ish
New words written: since my last update? 4733
Present total word count: 59479
Mean things: A friend aggrieved on another's behalf; a school friend unhappy in her marriage
Fun things: Drunken little brother. Grandmama delivering an acid set-down to a jerkface brother-in-law. Girlish gossip. Winter jasmine.
Stimulants: Iced coffee this morning; Naughty Nurse ale last night.
I have not been in the throes of inspiration, but I have been getting things done. I've been doing the trick with the timer again, 20 or 30 minutes writing, a ten-minute break, and back to writing again. I did that ALL DAY today, from roughly noon until nine or ten at night. That carried me through the entire wedding scene, and all the way to the bride preparing for bed, with her best friend brushing her hair and bearing her company.
Yesterday (or was it two days ago?) I knocked out the scene where the viscount's friend berates him for the effect his marriage will have on the lieutenant. That was another one for the timer, mostly because it was so emotionally loaded.
My beta continues to be awesome. When I said "I have NO IDEA how much wedding needs to get shown between the Aggrieved conversation" (which takes place two days prior to the wedding) "and the wedding night" (which I wrote months ago) "help?"
So she said "well, you know who's AT the wedding, right? Figure out what they all have to say, and then winnow it down to what's relevant to the plot?"
Readers, I dumped a BULLETED LIST on her, of all Rabbit's Friends And Relations, and their opinions on the marriage, and she helped me zero in on the greedy brother-in-law whose kid is liable to be knocked out of line as the heir (as soon as our heroine has a boy, which is in no way a given at the time of the wedding), and the bride's best friend's marriage, and then everything kind of fell into place. It gave the acid-tongued grandmama another chance to show off, and the other relatives to be benevolent, and the aggrieved friend did the gentlemanly thing and gave a very nice toast, though he had refused to be best man (although I never worked that detail in; if I can get it there in editing, I will, but otherwise it can stay as it is).
The thirteen-year-old brother who got drunk by draining his glass on all the toasts just sort of happened while I was writing today. He didn't disgrace himself -- his mother noticed and cut him off before anything dreadful could happen. But, oh lord, I've SEEN that kid so many times at weddings (and bar mitzvahs) with open bars. I may have been that kid once or twice, because my great-aunts were a TERRIBLE influence, for which I am forever grateful -- seriously, if you're going to get foolishly drunk at a young age, one's doting great-aunties are much safer company than teenage boys, and then after that you've got some idea what your tolerance is. And, back when I were a lass, the alcohol control training for caterers was a lot looser, and the general rule seemed to be, if you were wearing a cocktail dress and heels, they'd serve you. :) So, in the late Georgian era, I'm sure the rules were even looser!
Except for a paragraph or two to establish the POV shift, I am now caught up through the wedding night. I am REALLY getting close to the end!
