Thursday, July 06, 2006

Is It Friday Yet?

Although it's been a short work week, it's been an intense one. One of our projects is reaching a critical stage; I can say no more. I've been working on this project for a long time, but I was still busy preparing additional data for it the last few days. I still have to collect additional data tomorrow, but that part should be pretty easy. Part of me--OK, a large part of me--still feels I ought to have a Blizzard as a reward. Our homemade apple sorbet is good, but it doesn't have any chocolate.

Writing: I've spent the last few days trying to add more conflict to Lennon's Line. There's a section toward the end of Part One where I start tidying up some of the subplots. I've gotten some feedback from reviewers that things go too well for my heroine there. If there's no conflict, there's no reader interest. (Though I would argue that some books I enjoy for the setting or characters just as much, if not more so, than for the plot.) I've read other stories that are basically "wish fulfillments" for the authors; you can tell because the big prizes fall into the main characters' laps without them doing much (or anything) to earn them. This is probably more common in fanfic than in SF; I don't know about other genres. Anyway, even though I have good things waiting for my main characters at the end of their stories, they need to earn them. So for Lennon's Line, I'm setting an obstacle in Jo's (my heroine) path; she gets set upon by a gang as she tries to pawn items to raise money. I think I may also have her romantic interest, George, hold off on proposing, especially since she temporarily holds off on telling him she plans to bear and raise John's clone. Still have to work out all of the details, so I should get some writing done.

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