The end of January is upon us and I decided to enter a Writer’s Digest University Boot Camp to crit the first ten pages of Weaver. This meant going back to the first ten pages and chainsaw editing two pages worth of unneeded words. It doesn’t hurt the story just gets rid of unnecessary world building that can shuffled elsewhere. Overall the editing for the first couple of chapters hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows. I’ve been discovery writing my antagonists and just goes to show how much I need to plan the next novel. This pantsing vs. planning has been an ongoing problem and is not breaking news by any stretch. It just means Chapter 5+6 have been rewritten several times already to set up the rest of the novel and that’s a good thing. I completely understand why it takes people years to finish their first novel. This is year three for Weaver. I really am going to try my hand at short stories after this. Honest. Amazon Breakout Novel Contest begins Feb 2 and ends March 2. Great post from my word war/treadmill buddy, Bennett North in response to Chuck Windig’s post about when and when not to self publish. I agree with them both since my writing started out horrendous and thanks to feedback has gotten just a wee bit better. Great guest post from Kameron Hurley about persistance followed by a follow up post of Harry Connolly on the subject. Word metrics for January! The Where Weavers Daire K BAR count is: Less than two months away from Emerald City Convention! Time to track down pieces parts for a Jayne Cobb costume!
The first update for 2014 and Tobias Buckell is 15 posts ahead with his daily updates. So, for my 2014 resolution: Weekly posts. Month / Week / WIP Name / Chapter Number. Back during NaNoWrimo I figured out the problem with my work in progress: One of my protagonists, Melinda, got off too easy in the first chapter after meeting my second protagonist, Spence. And, instead of bouncing off each other and getting themselves into more trouble with the unnamed antagonist, there were dozen chapters until they met up again. Oh, by the way, I was at 111k by the time I figured this out with no end in sight. So, I did the smart thing and plotted out the novel from scratch using what I already had and making sure Melinda got into more trouble by the end of chapter one. I dumped several chapters of empire building and we come to the current metric or three quarters of the way through chapter four: The Where Weavers Daire K BAR count is: Thankfully not a page one re-write more like rejiggering Act One and Scrivener drag and drop folders for moving chapters has been a god send. The weekly write ins at local coffee shops with Myself, Bennett North and a few others has been helping. Elephant Room in Pawtuxet Village being one of my favorites due to soft music, good tea and ample room to settle in. And judging from this Projo Article looks like more business are going to be moving in including a Fellini’s Pizza. In non-writing news, VCVC Cupcakes asked me to look at their website and re-design it. Like the Air Ventures RI website before it, I’m happy with the way it came out. If any local business are interested in giving their websites a fresh coat of paint check out my studio site at RKB Studios for more information. Lastly in Convention News: Emerald City 2014 is two months away. Three day tickets have been sold out on the website so check the local shops for tickets.
After two years of waiting, the US fans of Sherlock will have to wait another two weeks for Season 3 to start with The Empty Hearse. When we last left our heroes, Watson arrived to witness Sherlock jump off a building to make sure Moriarty’s goons didn’t kill Watson, Lastrade or Mrs. Hudson. The death of Sherlock Holmes in The Final Problem has been played out across much of the reboots over the years. Jeremy Brett’s run being the one I remember the most. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows being the most recent and enjoyable since both Robert Downey Jr and Jared Harris were fun to watch even if the plot got a little laughable in spots. The Reichenbach Fall doesn’t take us all the way to Switzerland and instead The Final Problem is played out on a rooftop giving our hero the only option left to him to save his friends. In the end, Sherlock falls, dies and is buried. And in the final moments shown to be quite alive. There’s a phrase in DC Universe to explain how Batman does the things he does: He’s Batman. And like the costumed Detective, Sherlock is the same way. The tone of The Empty Hearse is less morose than it’s predecessor, The Empty House. Two years have passed and everyone is getting on with their lives. Fresh from the seven minute short entitled Many Happy Returns, Lastrade continues to happily shoot down wild theories from Anderson that Sherlock is solving crimes across Europe. Watson, now with mustache is getting ready to propose to Mary and just where is Sherlock, exactly? The return of Sherlock is less of a surprise this time round. Instead of Sherlock regaling Watson of his continental adventures we’re shown the events which is much better than being told it. The set up and the pay off is laugh riot. Honest to god, a laugh riot. And I’m not just talking about Martin Freeman flipping off the audience (check the Hobbit DVD extras for his outtakes of flipping off the audience) the episode on a whole is fun to watch and is welcome breath of fresh air after the disappointing Doctor Who season. For much of the episode the Detective Duo are separated until the unnamed antagonists reach out and the episode gets moving. The use of Moran was a nice touch even if he isn’t chasing Holmes like before. The episode on a whole was very V for Vendetta, minus the bald Natalie Portman. Using the London Underground as a set peice reminded me of Skyfall. In the end, I’m happy Gatniss and Moffat have dulled some of the edges of Sherlock and made him more human. This is a good thing. You make the highly functioning sociopath more likable while still solving crime and keep the humor within reason. Here’s hoping the quality of the next two episodes are just as good.
