Current reading:
The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America, by Marilyn Irvin Holt

Current work:
Erin Glen I: Daniel's Triumph: Finished editing!
New project (Novel): 1,900/2,700
Wishers (F short): finished! Getting crits now
Erin Glen II: Brainstorming/plotting

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  February 1, 2001:

Todays music: LeAnn Rimes: Sittin' on top of the World

The new story is going well! Yesterday I ekked out 800 while traveling out of town. Today I added 1,900! I'm pleased with how it's going. This story is based more on personal experiences, so it's a much better story. I'm also using some new techniques I learned recently.

Yesterday, my mom wanted to go shopping out of town. Together we discovered a used store. I found three old writing books (copyrighted 1960's). They are great. They have little lessons on different topics, then an essay (some are by famous authors like Mark Twain, or John Stienbeck), then exercises about the lesson topic. I'm going to start reading one lesson a day in my two hour writing time.

The one I started reading yesterday (I didn't finish because I started feeling a bit car sick) was on details. I've realized that I haven't been putting enough details in my stories. Some critters have pointed this out to me, but I always thought, 'But too much detail weighs it down.' I always thought I had enough, which was less, I knew, than most people's standards. But after reading this lesson on detail, I learned that it can really add depth to the story. Instead of just saying, 'The sky was cloudy', for example, we could say it much better by saying, 'Massive, moisture-filled clouds loomed across the sky.' (those examples taken from the book, not written by me) Details can add feeling to your story. We could say, 'An eerie creaking noise emanated from the old house,' for a horror story, or 'A gentle breeze rocked the old oak tree next to the victorian style house,' adds a bit more pleasant feeling.

I love these old books. There's so many lessons in them, it'd take me forever to finish. So, far they seem very helpful.

I've decided my secondary goal this year is to finish another novel or novelette. I've always gotten 20 or 30K into a story, realized it wasn't going to be novel length, then balked at finishing it. I need to go on and finish the story anyway. Maybe I'm just not a novel writer right now and I need to work up to longer lengths. I've said this before, and this time I need to actually do it.

This new project feels like it's going great. I'm in love with the characters. The main one is a lot like me (me in an alternate reality), and another character is a mixture of people I've known. I think it will make the story a lot better, the characters seem more real, by putting in characteristics like that. I've never done it to this extent and for once, my characters feel really alive to me.

Oh, with the healthy dare, things are also going great. I'm staying on my carb fast and feeling really good about it. James tries to tempt me, though. Yesterday he came home with one of my favorite ice creams. He figured since I was on this diet, I wouldn't eat any and it would be all to himself. He's right. I'm not going to touch it.

I'll keep you posted!