Daily "Fateplay" rewrite journal, Day 2.

Drank way too much wine last night and I'm a mess today. I don't drink hardly at all anymore and I totally miscalculated. I'm going to still try to get my 10 pages done.

I don't know if being drunk gave me any insights into the story. I made minimal changes. It did slow down my thinking, ironically, so that I could see it somewhat freshly.

Getting a slightly later start today. 12:30.

I think what I wrote yesterday was an improvement. In many ways, it's delving into the mechanics of the story and that always pulls me away from original vision. I just have to remember that the original vision is still there and that line editing doesn't detract. Nor does adding the elements that need to be there or taking out the elements that don't need to be there.

From what I've heard, some writers really love this part of the process. But I love the glow of discovery, of the raw story, and going back and reworking it dims that glow, the romance. It's like having a sports car and lifting up the hood and seeing all the gears and oil. 

This is turning more SF than it was originally, more strange, and I think that's a good thing; it covers me from not being accurate about Larping or cosplay. Instead, I'll be judged by my overall vision and descriptions. I do worry that the technology won't be completely accurate, but...dammit, the story demands certain things and the tech is always flexible. After all, it is the future. So I really need to be as vivid and colorful with that as I can be.

Here goes:

Finished the 10 pages. Mostly because I cut a hell of a lot. But I also wrote a bunch. This is turning into a very different story, in some ways. It is tighter, but has lost a bit of charm, I think. The charm was goofy, though. This is more mature.

Rewriting was definitely the right decision. I've really firmed up the plot and the flow. I'm losing some nice interpersonal connections, but I still think it makes more sense for the protagonist to come in from the outside, to be an innocent, to be an underdog.

The strange visitations I've added are good because they add to the mystery as well as prepare the reader for the big turn at the end.

I also think the 10 pages are the right number to attack each day. I may not feel that way while I'm doing them, but so far both days I've woken up the next morning with the certainty that the story was improved. I just need to keep on hacking at it, one chunk at a time.

I'd say about 20% so far is new, about 15% has been cut, and the rest is only slightly modified. Most of the big changes are happening in the first 50 pages or so. After that, it's more a matter of adapting to the new changes the rest of the way.




Didn't sleep again last night. Bad dreams, that when I woke up I was certain was brought about by the "poison" of alcohol. I think if I'm ever going to drink at all it has to be social and moderate, not alone and extreme. Heh.

Still, despite being groggy all day, I did make some substantial improvements, so I'm hoping for today.