18 and words to go

Fought and clawed my way through another 1100 words today, mostly dialog.

I decided to start in on another story, since the main project seems a bit stalled. This is one of the older entries in the brown notebook, and once again I’m experimenting with 1st person.

I’m not really a fan. The first person perspective puts a lot of exposition into your narrator, and if he’s not very compelling you run the risk of losing your reader early.

I’m actually very excited about this piece, but at the same time a bit puzzled by my choice of format. I may rip it all out and try again in third-limited, my preferred narrative style. Not because I don’t think the story will work, but because I think that how it’s unfolding may not be a saleable piece.

I can’t see the kind of suspense and action I’m writing holding a reader for an entire novel, and might need to pull it back to a shorter length to keep it engaging. Third limited also lets me explore another one of the characters a bit more– she’s a much more interesting person in the long run.

Or maybe this story just doesn’t work the way I want it to, and I should go with something else for the rest of the month. I should know in a few days. Right now it feels a lot like an Outer Limits episode, the new series, not the classic. If I can hold the scope to that level of tension, it’s got a shot.

Contributing to my literary doldrums today was last night’s sleeplessness, which resulted in a too-typical-of-late post-noon wake up. I just couldn’t get more than a few hours in, until finally dropping off during CSI around 8 AM.

Horatio Caine and the Pretty Patrol have become my new baseball game, a guaranteed sleep starter. Why I was able to make it through this week’s snorefest of a Heroes awake and alert is anybody’s guess.

Also a factor was today’s necessary banking, which while it did allow me a start on wordcount during a bus ride, did not keep the writing flowing afterwards.

My original plan was to stay down at the mall and join the other NaNos for a write-in tonight, but my energy and interest level flagged during a Best Buy/ROSS run. I saw plenty of things to pick up but remained strong, escaping with but a single purchase of 24: season 7, for 20 bux.

I’ll admit I found the packaging just as fascinating as the content, but I’ve come this far with ol’ Jack, and I’d like to see what happens next.

Upon returning home, I dutifully recorded my purchase in the database, and then filed it for viewing behind the recorded TV already in the queue.

What are those, you might ask? Why, its/they’re the Buck Rogers, Boomtown, V (original series and final mini), Danger Mouse (s 1-10), Greatest American Hero (s1), Crossing Jordan (s1), Alias (s 1&2), Roswell (s 2&3), Arrested Development (s 2&3), Pushing Daisies (s2), Planet of the Apes, and Dark Angel (s2) sets. The Star Trek (TOS) and LOST blu-rays I can get to later. Man’s got to have priorities, right?

I’d get a life, but who has time? After all, I’ve got 4 more episodes of Terminator: TSCC s1 to get through before I can start in on the above.

I might also want to sleep. I’ll let you know how that turns out.