Zanski: Blog

I had been wrestling with a complex scenario for some weeks; the main issue was in trying to keep it all realistic. Solving the problem in one part would lead to a problem in another. Finally, I thought I had it all buttoned down, when I came to realize that even the lead-in would have to be revised. Resigned to the fact that it was all my own doing, I set to work, spending all of March on the re-write. Then, on April 1st, of all days, my re-write disappeared. Well, it didn't disappear so much as revert to the same draft I had saved on March 4th. So I figured I'd just open the backup copy, the one I keep on an external hard drive. But it, too, had reverted to the March 4th document. Have I elicited your sympathy yet?

So I took the problem to Google AI. After some poking around under the AI's tutelage, I was able to find the glitch in my LibreOffice Writer word processing app: a crashed auto-save process. I was able to reboot the process, but not able to recover the month's work. I was discouraged and decided to step away for a few days.

Even so, I began to feel guilty for delaying the completion of the promised story. And then I realized that a guilt trip had no place in the fun I normally enjoyed from writing. And, as I've said many times, I write for fun. Even this blog entry is written out of guilt.

So, here I sit, on the horns of a dilemma. I do want the fun of continuing to write this story, but resent the feeling of obligation to do so, which drains it of fun. Go figure.

I just killed one of the major characters in my fourth Seneca book. Knowing that was coming, it's been bothering me for a few days. Those characters seem to assume a lie of their own. I can hear their voice, see their smile, watch them at work, and interacting with the other characters. Of course, it's all a creation of my own mind. Nonetheless, it's an investment of imagination, consistency, and thousands of words. But people die in real life, and I try to keep my stories realistic. Even writing for fun isn't always fun.

This book is at 86K words. Can I bring it in with another 30 or 40K? Maybe.

I have been hung up for weeks trying to work out two sequential scenes in Seneca Book Four. The problem was constructing something that would be realistic. Now that I have it figured, it seems so absurdly simple that I can't imagine why it was so difficult. However, as I reflect on the process, I can remember the many small details that kept tripping me up. See, it's not just what happens, but it has to seem a natural consequence of the realistic motives of those characters involved. Then again, that's part of the fun. But this one has really had me tangled up for a while. Ah, well, back to it.

My slow going, in the fourth book of the Seneca Series trilogy, I attribute to the fact I have painted myself into a plot corner. This was done quite deliberately, in order to create a realistic scenario. In fact, I've done this more than once. Getting out of those corners, in a realistic and satisfying manner, requires a bit more brainpower than I have become accustomed to using, in my dotage. Having painted myself into the current corner, I'm even having trouble deciding what color the paint should be. I'm embarrassed to admit to being only at 68K words, just past my intended mid-point. Anyway, I offer no phony excuses, just the fact that I am barely intelligent enough to write these stories. See the trouble? I'm not even smart enough to think up a plausible phony excuse.

I just passed 50K words in the fourth Seneca book, working title Del Norte. I'm aiming for about 120K words, but those who follow this blog will know how woefully poor I am at holding myself to any such goals. Keep in mind that I am writing the fourth book in what was intended to be a trilogy. Definitely. For sure. This time I really meant it. You can look it up.

I admit I have been distracted by Lumpy's Imperium series, which I've been reading for the past couple weeks. It may have slowed my own writing a bit.