Quixotic Evil

NaNoWriMo: Status report 2

2007-11-07

Warning: I won't put spoilers in the text of these status posts, but there may be some in the comments, from me or others.

End of day 6, ~11,200 words, 22.4% (daily target for today was to hit 20%, which I actually managed in draft yesterday). A tiny bit of CMS tweaking wants doing, but nothing that's a higher priority than the story.

Thanks for the comments and things everyone.

One reader doesn't like the main character, finding her somehow subtly disagreeable. Which is great; I'm chuffed that she can be subtly anything at this stage. Besides, I'm not her biggest fan either.
Dragon likes the CMS. I'm glad, although I wonder whether he's trying to worm his way out of commenting on the story.
Other folk sound like they're getting hooked, so I'm happy so far.

Comments

Tom wrote:

Since when have I ever tried to worm out of anything? Except work. And commenting on stuff.

Story's interesting but definitely first draft stuff (some repetition, some words that could be amended etc). Am curious to see where it's going.

Two things though: 1) You put a chapter break in the middle of a scene (dinner - Ch.4 to Ch. 5) which interrupted the flow a little. Also, you didn't make it clear if dinner had finished or not. Little touches of action like having the steward clear the dishes or them finishing up would have been more clear.

2) what happened to the strange ship? It was all about whether it gets destroyed or not and then nothing. Surely it would be a priority to follow that that up for a while. Unless it's Fernandez' ship in which case, that needs to be a little more clear. (Also, in terms of plot, surely he needs to be asked why there was no identifcation marks on his ship and no beacons or transponders which would have identified the ship.)

Some of the dialogue is a little too "on-the-nose" - more subtext might be useful.

But that's being picky. It's good stuff. Keep it coming.

2007-11-07 10:07:08

QE wrote:

Keep providing comments like this and you may get sent everything I write ;-)

The chapter break during dinner was largely due to me wanting to stop writing and commit something, I think. It doesn't achieve anything and I agree that it should be clearer what the new scene (a passage of time was intended) is when it starts.

The strange ship is the one on which Ruiz arrived. This was meant to be clear from what is said at the end of chapter 5, and is something that I will/would have another look at in a future draft.
Similarly, he does have his electronics issues pointed out to him, but only for one paragraph halfway through chapter 6; that could be structured in such a way as to better relate to the problems faced before then.

'Some of the dialogue is a little too "on-the-nose" - more subtext might be useful.'
I will consider this. In the long run I might ask for more specific advice, if you have it.

Many thanks for such thoughtful and constructive criticism.

2007-11-07 15:58:33

Tom wrote:

My bad. I think I got distracted by the dinner scene and didn't take in the end of chapter 5. Similarly the paragraph about the electronics.

I promise to read more closely in the future.

2007-11-08 10:03:09

Recently...: QE: Yes, I am. I start a new job on Monday, so I may a...; Lyle: Well done. Now, are you still alive? :-P; Tracy: Fantastic. Well Done QE. Will look forward to more...; QE: The full thing comes in at a little over 119,000. ...; Tom: 100000 words eh? Nicely done. Let the editing beg...; QE: @Lyle - Yeah, I'm really pleased with it. I'm talk...; Matt: I didn't even know you could get a platinum medal ...; Lyle: Congrats on the job offer - really pleased to hear...; QE: Thanks guys. One of the interviews was really b...; Matt: Err... Good luck?

NaNoWriMo: Status report 2

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