Monday, May 1, 2023

Is That Progress I See?

Lately, progress is like some elusive legendary creature slinking around beneath the sea. I catch glimpses of it, only for it to then flick its tail at me before disappearing back into the deep. 


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WRITING

Published - My 400 word story, DEAD LINE, up at Dread Stone Press.

 

Novel/Novella - I had to rethink and redo so much of it these past couple of months. I really hope it will be worth it and a better story will result.

 

Two fun and inspirational posts for you:

"10 Things Lego Has Taught Me About Story-Building" by P.A. Cornell, over on the Writers Helping Writers blog 

 

"Are You Giving Yourself Writing Credit?" by Jessica Conoley, over at Jane Friedman's blog. 


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WATCHING

Movies - We really liked "Jerry and Marge Go Large" (Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening, and Rainn Wilson.) Sometimes, the dark corners of my mind need some light shone into them. 

 

TV – "The Night Agent" on Netflix was great! My husband said it reminded him of "24" (the original series), which is one of his all-time favorite shows. So enjoying "Not Dead Yet" with Gina Rodriguez – funny, quirky, heartwarming and heartbreaking, all in 30 minutes! 

 

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Have you seen progress – on anything! - lately? What keeps you going when the glimpses of it are few and far between? Have you watched anything you'd recommend?

24 comments:

  1. I hope the novel comes together for you soon.
    Been watching Battlebots. Just something enjoyable about watching machines beat the crap out of each other.

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  2. I've made some progress. Started meeting people online to do writing sprints. It's helped me put my toe back in. :-)

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  3. In my humble experience, rethinking and redoing big chunks of a novel always lead to a better story. I hope you have the same experience, even if it may not be obvious right away.

    My significant other & I have been watching Yellowjackets. It's a weird show that's gotten weirder. I'm starting to have to watch parts of it through my fingers or from behind a pillow. :)

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    1. Thanks, MJ. I think that's the trickiest part, the not knowing, it not being obvious....

      The name of that show is familiar, but I can't remember what it's about. You have me intrigued.... :)

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  4. Hi Madeline, Congratulations on your 400 word story, DEAD LINE. It has an intriguing title.

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    1. Thank you, Rachna! My husband and I usually work on the titles together, try to come up with something that has more than one layer/meaning.

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  5. Yes, I have been making progress on my writing again. It's been so nice to be writing after a long, unintended break.

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  6. I read your story. Whew! Creative and creepy. Congratulations!

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  7. Looking forward to reading your story - good on ya! As to the novel building - yep, it is such a slow game, but I know that if I keep at it something will emerge. I'm in a slow spot too, but trying to stay positive with it. Trust the process!

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    1. Thanks, Jan! Hope you like it.

      I try to remind myself to trust the process, but I might need to make it into a mantra - trust the process, trust the process, trust the.... :)

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  8. Ah progress. I hope its head pops up to stare you down more often than not. I had good progress in April, and then it came to a crashing halt when I couldn't figure out how I wanted to deal with a scene. Hopefully progress comes for both of us!

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    1. That "crashing halt" is the worst. I can almost hear the screech of everything just stopping.

      Wishing you - us! - more and longer sightings of that elusive Progress! :)

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  9. Congrats on the story. And yes, sometimes you have to take a couple of steps back to go forward again - I'm feeling like that myself at the moment, and it's a great feeling!

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    1. Thanks, Annalisa!

      And as long as we keep going forward - eventually! - that's what counts. :)

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