It’s Mother’s Day and I’m only online for a little bit. Have plans to hang out with family, chill, and take it easy today.
My ROW80 update is short this time. I had a week planning for Outlantacon, which went uber well. I had a wonderful time at the con. I then had a week of work catching up with things I missed the previous week, and posting updates on various spots.
This week, I’ve focused back on my writing. I ripped out two chapters that — while well done and interesting — didn’t take my characters where I wanted them to go. The equivalent of ripping out about 30 rows of crochet stitches. Painful, but necessary to move forward. Those two chapters were holding me back. Someone once said cutting chapters was akin to killing. Well… I can maybe agree. Although I’ve never killed anyone, it was painful enough to do that it took me three days to get up the nerve to do it. I’m still working on the rewrites. Set me back about two weeks.
On the other hand, I went to see the Avengers yesterday with my son and his son. It was a treat getting to see my kind of movie. I love scifi, and any movie where stuff blows up. ^_^ Favorite line… wow. There were many great parts. Probably the best is a scene in which Captain America is delivering orders to two NY cops, and they give him a cold stare. One says “Why should we listen to you?” About then, the invading force (not a spoiler – it’s in the previews) shows up and the good captain takes on about half a dozen baddies single handedly. The questioning cop gets an eyeful. He grabs his mic and repeats the orders without hesitation. Abit later in the film, Capt America is again giving orders to the other Avengers, who up to now, hadn’t been that crazy about taking orders from anyone. This time, they all bounce off to obey. That’s where my favorite line comes in. Last to receive an order is the Hulk, who’s been running amok all day. The captain says, “Hulk?” and the green monster turns and gives him a critical eye. The order? “Smash!!” With an evil grin and a nod, the Hulk sets off to do just that.
The two-and-a-half hour movie was over far too fast. Great pacing, excellent dialogue, wonderful imagery. I want to write like that.
Happy Belated Mother’s Day. I was supposed to see The Avengers Sunday but the timing never worked. Definitely want to see it before it leaves theaters. Glad you figured out what held your characters back. I HATE deleting what I’ve written. I keep a word doc specifically for deleted pages so I don’t feel like they’ve been completely trashed. Good luck!
Melanie
It was painful. ;o I’ve been working on it this afternoon, and so far, have been delighted with what I’ve changed. I think it’s for the best even tho it isn’t easy. I do that too — I’ve reused some material in other books or other scenes. And some, when I read it again, makes me go “well… I must’ve been really tired when I wrote that!” LOL