Work in Progress: “The Dancing Teacher”

Progress report:

Last time looked at: 4/17/17

Last actual wordage added: 4/17/17

Pages added, 4/17/17: 2

Current page count: 12 (see below)

Current word count: 2,950

Estimated final page count: 20-30?

Deadline: June 1, 2017 (anthology)

Comments: Yes, it got shorter again.

A few days ago I looked at what I had and once again threw part of it out. The story had once again gone in the wrong direction; I had over-thought the background, and had too much internal monologue.

This time, though, it finally feels as if I’ve got it right.

I had cut it back to about nine pages, but not all the stuff I removed came from the end — I cut a chunk out of the middle, too.

Anyway, it seems to be finally going in the right direction, with my protagonist not doing anything stupid or reckless (at least, not yet). Progress has been slow, however; I’m not sure exactly why. I’ve been feeling a bit sluggish; maybe it’s just the weather.

Today I finally wrote two full pages, and got things moving a little better. The antagonist has gotten his first lines of dialogue. Still not quite sure how my protagonist will get into the confrontation I want, or how the resolution will play out, but it’s coming together.

Work in Progress: “The Dancing Teacher”

Progress report:

Last time looked at: 4/9/17

Last actual wordage added: 4/9/17

Pages added, 4/9/17: 3, more or less

Current page count: 13 (see below)

Current word count: 3,405

Estimated final page count: 20-30?

Deadline: June 1, 2017 (anthology)

Comments: Yes, it got shorter.

A few days ago, shortly after my last progress report, I looked back over what I’d written, and considered where the story was going, and said, “That sucks.” I could have finished the story, and it might have been publishable, but I wouldn’t be happy with it, and as the author, my opinion counts.

So I threw out eleven of the eighteen pages I’d written at that point. (I said in a tweet I threw out twelve, but I realized almost immediately that I’d gone a page further than necessary, so I put one back.) I decided I was going to find a plot that didn’t require the protagonist to do something totally boneheaded, and had the antagonist and his family react in a way that vaguely resembled actual human behavior. (Many writers don’t bother with this, and many readers don’t seem to mind, but I usually prefer characters who bear some similarity to reasonably intelligent people.)

I have now come up with that new plot. I think. We’ll see whether it works once I write it all down. And I’ve added more to the story, including some bits salvaged from the discarded material, but mostly new.

The protagonist still does something reckless, but it’s not completely stupid.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 4/7/17

Last actual wordage added: 4/7/17

Pages added, 4/7/17: 2

Current page count: 55

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 13,931

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Third in the Tom Derringer series. I’m writing Chapter Six, where Tom is being briefed on the job he’s agreed to undertake. He’s in Ogden, Utah, and it’s March 24, 1884. I’ve been reading up on Mormons, paleontology, geography, etc.

Work in Progress: Charming Sharra

Progress report:

Last time looked at: 4/1/17

Last actual wordage added: 4/1/17

Pages added, 4/1/17: 4

Current page count: 16

Estimated final page count: 300? I don’t really have any idea.

Deadline: None. Purely speculative.

Comments: The story is continuing. Sharra has gone to her mother looking for sympathy.

Word-count is 3,926.

Work in Progress: “The Dancing Teacher”

Progress report:

Last time looked at: 4/1/17

Last actual wordage added: 4/1/17

Pages added, 4/1/17: 2

Current page count: 17

Current word count: 4,506

Estimated final page count: 20-30?

Deadline: June 1, 2017 (anthology)

Comments: Hmm… I haven’t always posted about this one.

I’m writing this for a specific anthology I got invited to, so it needs to fit a particular set of parameters. As originally planned, I’m not sure it did, but then I didn’t have all of it planned out. I had the set-up, and I knew how I wanted it to end, but the stuff in between was very vague.

As a result, I’ve backtracked a couple of times. The most recent one was tonight — sort of. I decided I needed to do a drastic rewrite, so I saved what I had in a separate file and looked at what to cut, and wound up not cutting anything. I just picked up where I’d left off and added a couple of pages. I may yet wind up reworking it, but I think I want to finish this version first, just to see whether I can get to my planned ending from where I was.

I did make a few changes; originally the viewpoint character didn’t have a name, and then on page 11 he absolutely needed to have a name because he’s being formally announced, so he acquired one. Tonight one of things I did was go back and insert his name right in the first paragraph.

Also, which of the Cousins serves as the setting has changed. Originally it was set in Skarl, which I realize means nothing to most of you, but Skarl has been mentioned in previous stories both published and un-, and the place I’m describing in this story is clearly smaller, poorer, and more backward than the Skarl described elsewhere. I could have moved it backward in time a couple of centuries, but it was just as easy to change the kingdom’s name to Korza and leave Skarl out of it entirely.

Anyway, it’s coming along; I’ve set everything in place and the climactic fight should start in a couple of paragraphs.