08-17-09 Did You write?

I post these did you write notes each week on several bulletin boards as a prompt to get myself to write something during the week and hope others use it as an excuse to get into writing too.

This was last week's post.


08-17-09 Did You write?

I hope you were able to find some time to write. I hope this note gave you the impetus to actually write when you were not intending to otherwise. This is a place to brag about your accomplishments or cry about your failures.

As to what is writing, is up to opinion. Writing something new is writing, but editing is also writing. Poetry, articles, writing assignments, blogging, are also writing. Character creating and world building are also writing, if one gets something on paper. E-mails can also be considered writing if they are very wordy and pertain to writing. Some of these definitions might not be writing to you, and some others not listed might be. If you think you wrote, say that you wrote.

As for me, I did write. I am editing, rewriting, My Waxy Dragon Birth story. I just noticed I don't have a title. I guess I will now be a Baron... sorry, could not help the funny. I had almost finished the story, and decided to go to the beginning and make the changes I really wanted to make. I am expanding the piece by adding descriptions and details I never add to my writing.
This week, I went from 15959 words to 17217 words. That is only 1258 words, two pages. I zapped a lot of what I had and did it differently. I think most of the words was in adding a new scene. All that work has been in rewriting the first six pages. I have a lot of pages to go on this.
One thing I am doing, is taking all the stuff I learned from all the sixty plus stories written about Waxy, and long hours of discussions with my writing partners. I am making this story with the overall universal consistency we worked out. I am also trying to give detailed definition of a character who is barely seen in most of the stories. I am character building, but as I write, not plotting it out.
I am trying to spend an hour a night to write on this, but that time does not always show up.


On the story ideas, I am still generally on schedule. I will have a little falling behind, but can catch up easily if I put my mind to it, as last month showed. I am still coming up with new concepts to add to my compost pile and post. It has slowed down a little, but keeping up anyway.
My compost pile, including tonight's story idea, is at 41 concepts.
I write most of my concepts on five by five pieces of paper and each new one on top the stack. They tend to also be the first ones I post. The less desirable a concept is, the deeper it sinks into the stack. I will dig into the stack for something usable, and just take out the better ones and put them on top the stack. In this process, like a compost pile, the poor concepts slowly sink to the bottom, eventually to decay into nothing. I have a baggy filled with 170 story ideas that might never see the computer screen. Of course, I should dig through them and see if there are any that catch my fancy... Not now though.

I am comfortable in my new computer now. I have some data transfers to do but no rush right now. I have a third computer to set up, an old 486/33. I have some programs I want to run and windows 90 or 2000 don't like the programs.
In my digging into a spare bedroom that has a permanent model railroad layout and is used for storage, I found out that I have a total of eleven computer monitors. I had ten, but this weekend, got a 19 inch monitor at a yard sale for five bucks. A button on the front is mashed in, but it is great. I accumulated the monitors one at a time, for various reasons, but have decided I need to make room. They will be donated after I pick out the best three of them.
The other week, I searched and searched for monitor extension cords or switch boxes, having to buy a new one. When I was in the storage room for something else, I found I had two extension cables, two switch boxes, one of which I had in my hand and thought it was for mice. dumb. I am going to empty out the room a little and see exactly what I have, consolidate it and get it into a better order. I have it, I just cannot find it.

for a possible story idea, you have someone who keeps anything that is still useable. It slowly accumulates over time. He used to be able to put his hands on everything, but now cannot find anything.
He was sort of stuck on the moon, never making enough to get a ticket off. that meant he could not get a ship of his own. He simply worked for a living and for fun, repairing machinery, and for fun, seeing things work that was not supposed to work.
One day, he needs to fix a piece of machinery and knows for a fact he has the parts somewhere. He goes into his storage room. He never finds the part he needs and has to go and buy it.
he starts digging out his parts seriously. He empties the room and starts sorting. Looking at what he has, he starts to assemble devices based on the parts he has. They are all old devices, but quite serviceable. Some mechanical, some electronic, some are sensors. He finds he has just a few pieces of machinery that need parts.
He goes out to his barn where he has parts for larger machinery. He goes through there the same way, assembling parts and machinery.
He realizes that most of this equipment can be used in a space ship. Out of curiosity, he lays out the equipment, which includes a nearly complete drive system. Most of the ship is there.
he then looks and finds he has most of the structural members and sheeting a ship would need.
The economy of the moon drops so he has little work coming in. He can spend time on his space ship project. What he does not know is h0w much he would need to buy.
Two years go by. He has the ship sitting there with all the equipment in place. He has even powered up the systems to see what he is missing. Digging through the remains of his parts, he finds he can make most of what is missing.
The economy has gotten worse. He receives word he is going to lose his house and business. He loads up his ship with all his belongings. He has it fueled up, which was hard as he kept purchasing canisters of fuel so no one would know what he was doing.
he has to buy a new space suit, all prepared for him. He gets into the suit, and takes the ship out and flies off, making all the traffic controllers and local officials angry at him, shouting charges against him over communications.
He gets into space and escape his old life forever.

AS to the question of the week,

YES I DID WRITE!!!

DID YOU WRITE?