I put the outline for Trouvere together today in record time. All the stuff from the preliminary outline has been added to the formatted outline, so tomorrow I’ll spend the day fleshing things out where I can, rearranging and combining scenes and removing things I hate or that don’t work, putting in research notes where appropriate, and creating a day sheet and table of contents (yes, I’m afraid that’s how big this outline will be). Then, when that’s done, whether tomorrow or the next day, I’ll do what’s called “tagging and tracing” to make sure the main plot and all subplots are complete, and fix any weaknesses in the outline.

I should be done just in time to start writing when the whistle blows on September 1st.

Well. *scratches head* Apparently I have no formatted outline for Trouvere. I guess I worked out this version to the story evolution stage before I got frustrated. So either way I’m working out a new formatted outline over the next day or two. So you can better understand why this worries me, I should point out that my previous outline for this novel was 14,233 words long. That works out to 87 pages in Courier 12. This is not abnormal for my current process, but it is time consuming and a bit daunting.

I would switch back to Scorpion at this point, but it’s in the middle of the story evolution process and needs a lot of work and further brainstorming before it’s ready. Since I’ve practically got Trouvere memorized, I’m going ahead with that. Unfortunately, I haven’t got time to finish the research to the level I’d like, so instead of doing it all beforehand, I’m just going to stick notes into each scene in the outline, and research and write in tandem. When I get my 2K or more for the day, I’ll do the research for the following day’s writing. I’ve got to do something; I am thoroughly sick of outlining without writing.

I’m finally listening to my writing playlist to get in the mood. I’ve got Songs of Chivalry, Music of the Crusades, Love Songs of the Middle Ages and much LotR soundtrackage here to help me along in my quest for a historical fantasy novel.

Today I’m finishing up the outline for Trouvere, believe it or not. Yesterday I had to put SPG in the window to dry after some water spillage, so I had some time offline to go over my (scant) maps of 12th century Europe, and deal with what I’d been avoiding: my hero’s journey from Paris across Germany to Austria. I took some notes on the places he needed to pass through, a few events that would solve some story issues I’d been trying to work out, and now I’m ready to type it in and give the outline another once-over before starting on the rough draft.

So it looks like I’ll be working on Trouvere for the DII Writer’s Challenge after all! Somehow, I am not surprised.

I broke down and picked up a copy of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, even though I think I’ve really bought enough books this month. Even though I hate vampire books. This is all Kylara’s fault.

The cover is simple, lush and dark. Since it’s a YA book I figured it’d be a slim volume, but it’s nice and thick, a healthy 544 pages. Unfortunately, all they had at Borders was the paperback, but if I like it as much as I suspect I’ll nab the sequel, New Moon, in hardcover (and probably replace Twilight with the hc as well).

I’ve gone into offline mode, I guess. It wasn’t really intentional; I’ve had a lot on my mind, and while working on Scorpion I realized I didn’t really have enough scenes planned to continue the outline, so I needed some time to brainstorm scene ideas.

I read the intro to The Complete Romances of Chretien de Troyes, and took special interest in the section about The Knight of the Cart, the first story ever written about Lancelot and Guenevere’s affair. Staines remarks on the story taking the three-part plot structure of traditional Celtic abduction tales (with a twist), and I realized that basically, what I’m writing here is a reverse abduction tale. I’d like to do some reading up on the Celtic tales, but I don’t think it’s imperative for my story so I’ll wait until I’ve got more time. Right now the Romances are more pertinent I think.

Anyway, I hope to continue to update but I’m not sure that I’ll be available for chat right away. It all sort of depends on how the work goes.

Over the past couple weeks I’ve picked up: The Hound and the Falcon by Judith Tarr (it says on the back, “Judith Tarr is one of the undeniable experts in the historical fantasy form” so I figured it’s a chance to read in the genre. I think it’s a trilogy in one volume); The Complete Romances of Chretien de Troyes translated from the Old French by David Staines (finally, a decent version of Knight of the Cart!); and The Normans: Warrior Knights and Their Castles, a big, gorgeous Osprey hardback lavish with full-colour illustrations. A quote from William of Malmesbury on the back:

“The Normans . . . are a race inured to war, and can hardly live without it; fierce in rushing against the enemy, and, where force fails success, ready to use strategem or to corrupt by bribery.”

And from the front inside dustjacket flap:

Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries the Norman knight was the most feared warrior in Western Europe. Their military prowess was renowned throughout the known world . . . They built strongholds in important towns such as London and many of their great castles, including the Tower of London, still stand today as a testament to their building skill.”

Ah! My cultural heritage! *fans self* Anyway, many thanks to Hoshichan for spotting that one.

Right now I’m reading Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee, which I’m enjoying, but not really thrilled with the first person point-of-view, and Fruits Basket (I’d say which volume but the truth is I’m blazing through all of them. This is the most riveting and touching manga series I’ve ever read), and I’ve got Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and Tamora Pierce’s Alanna waiting in the wings. Oh yes, and Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart as well.

Which reminds me to say, if you’re having trouble finding great fantasy to read, be sure to try the Children’s and Young Adult sections of the bookstore; if you poke around a bit you’re almost guaranteed to find something brilliant and entertaining there.

I continued work on the story evolution worksheet again today for Scorpion. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Basically, it’s a worksheet you use to make sure you’ve got all the elements you need for a sound story structure. The only problem is that if your story doesn’t fall into the (admittedly rather loose) structure, you have to fudge it a bit, which is what I had to do. The form, that is, not the story. It’s sort of hard to explain. . . . Anyway, I went over the stuff I’d already written for the introduction of the story conflict, to make sure it all fit with my revised notes, then I went straight to the ending and filled that section out, since I knew it better than the rest. Now I’m going back to the beginning of the middle and building forward from there. So yes, I’m jumping around a lot.

The story is coming together nicely. I may spend some more time on this worksheet tonight depending on how this evening goes, but most likely I’ll finish it tomorrow. After that I’m going straight to the formatted outline, which is the longest but final step before writing the rough draft. I may go ahead and start writing the rough before the Dreaming in Ink Writer’s Challenge starts, because well, why not? It would just blow me away if I could have a completed manuscript done when I go north at the end of September.

I wrote over 1,000 words on the ending for Scorpion today; was shooting for 2,000 but in the end I decided I’d got what I wanted, and I’d rather leave myself a few surprises for the wrap-up. The important thing is that I worked out the climactic scene, and although I’ll need to let it brew a little bit (while outlining) to be sure, I think it turned out mostly the way I’d like. In otherwords, it all seems plausible and write-able, even if the swordfight sequences need serious work.

It’s pretty surprising how working out these final scenes is preparing me for writing the formatted outline. I’m able to let the characters surprise me and do what comes naturally for them, all the while knowing that whatever they do, I can find a way to move the story toward that point or foreshadow all their required “tools” for the job. The downside is that to do it this way, you have to know your characters very well. While I’ve got Grefin and his steward down, Symonne and Montenay still elude me. However, it’s cool to see how they’ve evolved just through working on this exercise. I think I may make this business of writing the ending first a regular part of my process. Trouvere could probably stand to be pinned down this way (plus, I was right, it’s doing a lot to calm my planning jitters).

1. I suck.
I will never get this ending right. I will therefore drown myself in a sea of neurotic angst, telling myself that hey, maybe I could be more emotionally and spiritually fulfilled by scrubbing out the vegetable bin five times a day with an old toothbrush.

2. My Livejournal Friends Page is just that spiff!
It might change the next time I refresh it. It might!

3. Thinking about updating my blog is really important.
Just thinking about it, mind you. Writing in it might actually entail, um, writing, after all.

4. Every time I look at the page, I want to pee in terror.
Okay, maybe not pee. More like curl into a shivering, thumb-sucking ball in the living room corner.

5. Drama!
My acute emotional distress makes it impossible to work, and lends an air of elegance to my career as a writer.

6. I am working on this list.
Obviously!

7. Aren’t reruns of That 70s Show on right now?
I just love that scrawny guy with the friends and the basement!

8. I am working on a website layout.
The fate of the free world and Middle Earth depend on my editing this Wordpress template.

9. I will never be Danielle Steele, so why bother?
No, wait. I think that’s a reason why I should write . . . *ba-dump-bump*

10. Need. Food.
Armies can’t march on an empty stomach, after all! *floats to the kitchen*

(Yeah, some of these are old chestnuts, but at least I got them out of my system!)

Desperately sick of outlining and not writing, I’ve decided to do something a bit different today. This may sound strange, but . . . I’m going to write the ending of Scorpion first. Endings/climactic scenes being my weakest point as a writer (in my own opinion), I’ve been wringing my hands a lot, feeling inadequate to finish any book, and so today I’m stopping that nonsense and getting the ending down. It’ll probably change when I finish the book, but at least I’ll have got past my irrational terror of climactic scenes and can write the rest of it finally.