March 29, 2004
Lisa 1, Exposition 0
I'll start with the easier of the two journal entries I'm planning on writing today... the retreat this weekend was its usual mix of insanely productive and productively insane. I rewrote almost two chapters of The Exile's Daughter and found my momentum again. While today hasn't been quite as productive, I wrestled with a strong bit of exposition, and I think I won. At the very least, I beat it into submission.
I also got to read about two-thirds of the novel that Mer has been working on feverishly. Aside from being entertaining as hell, it reminded me that I used to write a lot of fairly poetic prose, and I haven't done it much lately. I don't think there's much of anything poetic in Exile, but I have to grudgingly concede that it's too action-y to allow for much poetry. Beautiful flowing prose would be out of place. But now I want to write something as pretty as it is functional. Hrm. Not going to be room for much poetry in False Light either, I think.
My goals for the year include writing another novel first draft, but now I'm wavering as to which one it should be. I think after Exile I should possibly step back from bang-pow action and I should definitely not write Exile's sequel. Maybe I'll rework Sword in the Mound. Or, quite possibly, something else will ambush me between now and the time I'm ready to start working on a new novel.
I double checked, and I am now officially farther along in this rewrite than I ever got with my attempt at rewriting The Host. Score one for me. (Although, I'm still tempted to cannibalize bits of The Host for short story material.)
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Listening:"In the Midnight Hour" -- The Commitments / "Superunknown" -- Soundgarden (yay, random play)
