It's 10 a.m., last day of March Madness.
Thank You, Readers--you matter!
Thank You, @curie--
Your support and encouragement light a candle in the dark, damp cavern of my head.
Beta-Readers, March Madness Fans (#mmfan),
all who read a story and bring to it your own impressions, and bring them to the author, are priceless treasures.
@kaelci started this one. See March Madness! A Thank You to my #mmfans!.
It's now 10:20 a.m., last day of March, and I need a lot more time to do justice to this story. I also need reader and editors and co-conspirators (co-authors). If we could meet every Friday afternoon for Happy Hour, like The Algonquin Hotel--Dorothy Parker Society or Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein's writing brought her further renown, and her home and salons were frequented by many writers as well as artists, including many American and English expatriates. She tutored Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway, among others, in their writing efforts. source
I can write pretty prose, but my biggest weakness is structure, plot, action, and pacing.
I've been thinking about the people mentioned by the missing girl ("Jen-Ben") in her diary. Thanks to @kaelci, Rosary Man emerged from a prompt (Beads, Day 12). Thanks to @owasco, I dared to keep mentioning math (and tarot). Today, she came up with this:
@owasco (53) · 19 hours ago
Kris could have her cards read. At first glance it looks bad, really bad.
The death card could come up, but it doesn't mean Jenny is dead because it's in the fears position, but it hits Kris hard. She acts a bit irrational and Ethan comes to HER rescue (I love Ethan). Ethan is the one who sees the final card The Devil clearly (he turns out to be a psychic himself), as in "little devil" little imp. So someone is playing a sick joke on Kris (who is very hard to not call Kristy however much she does not find it advisable at this time given her current crush). Lexi? Lexi is a diabolical creature and quite the match for Kristy and her little stunt with the new girl in today's (yesterday's?) episode. Ethan figures Lexi out because he is in Kristy's reading as the root of the matter.
So I could be an idea person. I can't believe how easily I just thought of all that!
I need a co-author looking over my shoulder,
with a stun-gun if need be, to keep me from derailing. Every prompt leads me into a thicket of non-plot-worthy tangents. E.g., geeky science and math. "Salmon" reminded me of the missing girl and a plot twist that will likely never see the light of day:
Salmon
Anadromous comes from 'ana' which means 'up' and 'dromous' which refers to 'running'. Up and running. Imagine being forced to leave your childhood home to grow up somewhere far, far away. When it’s time for you to raise a family of your own, you have to walk all the way back to where you came from. If you are an anadromous fish, like salmon, this is what you do. You’re born in freshwater, you swim up to better feeding grounds in the ocean, then swim back to freshwater to spawn. Some fish travel for days, months, or even years. Summarized by me from Anadromous Fish: Definition, Species & Migration
Drapes
“All these mathematical patterns are draped over each other in layers of different textures,” Naomi Clark, a colleague of Lantz’s at N.Y.U., told me. She has followed the rise of clicker games in the past decade and has found that the best ones time out their bursts of acceleration to play off one another, like the plots, subplots, and cliffhangers in a bingeable television show. “All these mathematical patterns are draped over each other in layers of different textures,” she explained. “You can get rich effects.” source: The Unexpected Philosophical Depths of Clicker Games by Neima Jahromi
@owasco, I love the way you encourage this kind of thinking!
"ONE MORE!
Pythagorus for divination?
Oooh,
"Pythagorean Tarot for divination, meditation and ...
The Pythagorean Tarot is based on Pythagorean numerology, which explains the significance of the numbers. ...draws from a number of other sources (besides Greek), including Mediterranean mythology, alchemy, Jungian psychology, other divinatory systems and traditional tarot interpretation... source
Oh no!
It's now 10:35 a.m. Back to writing fiction, vs writing about the writing of fiction!
Thank you @owasco, @kaelci, @mariannewest,
and more names than I can mention on this final day of March Madness!
Check Out The @FreeWriteHouse Prompt Of The Day By @MarianneWest
That's the great thing though!! 😊 it's not really about finishing a novel in a month, but writing 50000 words in a month. All of those prompts will lead you here, there and everywhere, and then later on you can put them into a cohesive tale full of suspense and with a proper plot. Maybe that bit of writing will go away, maybe this one will be expanded on, and maybe this one would be better off at the start of the story instead of the end...
It's mostly an inspiration grabber! And perhaps writing something you never would have otherwise. Like that magical armband Draven in Moonfall wears. That tiny detail changed so much of that story.
Posting it on steem as you write though, as I do too, that leads to the urge to have a full, mostly-coherent story that has everything it needs right from the start. How will people follow and enjoy it otherwise? the inner voice says with a faint hint of a smirk.
Also. I am happy to be a co-author one day. 😉 maybe! Possibly! But I'm so much of a go-with-the-flow type that I don't even know what my plot is until I'm halfway through and then I backtrack and redo like a madwoman.
My heart and soul story began simply. And the overall plot has changed three or four times now. I couldn't burden someone else with my flimsy procedure. I'm sure it would be irksome.
Anyway!!! I'm so happy you joined in with March Madness! 😀😁 I'm so happy the wonderful @curie visited you!! And I give you my internet hugs for a story which couldn't have been easy to write. 🤗😊💕
My eyes welled a couple of times in your story, so the emotional impact is definitely there!
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You are so right, Kaelci, and thank you for the reminders and the inspiration and encouragement. I love the way "armband" - "just another daily prompt," just one word - led your story down unforeseen paths. Those prompts really do set something off, something unexpected, something unknown or forgotten or buried in the detritus of the years. THANK YOU for all your enthusiasm and insights!!!
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You know I love what you do. I've learned a lot from you, you are generous with your Self, and I treasure our conversations.
You are so welcome!!!!
I'd "co-author" if you do the writing!
xo
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What can you learn from me besides what NOT to do as a writer?
You're a kindred soul and I treasure your insights and anecdotes. And, ohhhh I'd totally take you up on co-authoring! Day 31, your words fit right in, seamlessly. You don't have time to do your own writing though. Maybe we can be gatekeepers or candle-holders to each other. :) Thank you for all your kinds words and inspiration!!!
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