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Welcome to the Writing Life! (Read 1248 times)

Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #650 - Sep 21^st, 2015 at 2:48am	Print Post
	I'm thinking that I have a need to explain one or two unintended pregnancies and since I've set things up on Samgara so that both would-be parents have to really want a child for pregnancy to occur I've got to come up with a way to overcome the unwillingness of one or both partners -- short of Divine Intervention which could be considered "cheating" -- in order to accomplish a "needed" pregnancy. [That would be an unintended pregnancy that "I" need for the story, not necessarily one that one or both parents need.] It wouldn't be a cure for infertility [on Samgara, if a couple that wants a child can't have one it is because one of them has genetic damage or that they are genetically incompatible] it would only "cancel out" the unwillingness of one or both partners to have a child. It would have to be ingested so it will probably be plant material of some kind and something that could be slipped to someone without their knowing. [Yeah, I have some characters in Book 4 that would do that.... and will....]


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #651 - Sep 24^th, 2015 at 11:42pm	Print Post
	I thought that I would have to expand the castle but after having "fun with graph paper" I'd figured out how to arrange everything that I was worried about fitting in Our Heroine's tower so that I won't have to make the tower bigger, taller maybe but not bigger which means I won't have to make any substantial changes in the castle's floor plan. I'll start drawing that out as soon as I decide on the scale of the drawing. I have 50 lb. paper that is 36 inches wide and 50 lb. paper that is 48 inches wide so "� of an inch equals a foot" looks VERY doable which means that I can use my "floorplan" templates to really detail things. Having the "floorplans" and maps of the area surrounding the castle will make plotting the action easier.
	« Last Edit: Sep 26^th, 2015 at 2:55am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #652 - Sep 25^th, 2015 at 3:04am	Print Post
	After much drawing, erasing, redrawing and calculating, the dimensions of the Keyholder's Castle complex (the original Castle and the Military complex that Our Hero requested to house his personal guard (originally called "minions") and the army he was going to raise.) are set in limestone. The entire area enclosed by the castle wall is 428 feet by 1,480 feet. Outside the wall are the stables, livestock barns, the dairy, various storage buildings and the Nightkin's Mansion on the far side of the burial grounds. ALL of which will be located on a map of the entire estate. The estate map will be both large and on a much smaller scale since the area inside the Mile Wall is 25 square miles/16,000 acres. That "should" give me enough room for everything I've already said is inside the Mile Wall. The complex around the Temple of the Rose Reborn is going to have to be mapped too.... more Oh well, mapping will keep me from biting my nails while I work on figuring out Book 4 "stuff."


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #653 - Sep 25^th, 2015 at 3:10pm	Print Post
	I'm currently experimenting to see if making the castle complex a few feet wider is desirable. So far it isn't but I'm going to fool around with numbers for a while to be sure.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #654 - Sep 25^th, 2015 at 9:50pm	Print Post
	I'm going to leave the dimensions as they are but careful study has revealed a major design/layout problem that needs to be addressed along with a couple of minor ones. I think that the castle floorplan maps are gonna need a separate binder......


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #655 - Sep 26^th, 2015 at 2:16am	Print Post
	I've finally gotten Our Heroine's "apartment" laid out to my satisfaction and based on various descriptions I put in the books. I've also designed the "guest quarters" floors in the Keyholder's Tower and the "Consorts' Quarters. Yes, there are provisions for more than one "consort." Everyone should have their own private space. There will be two floors devoted to that. I still have to design quarters for Our Heroine's daughters, their lab spaces and assorted other areas in the tower......


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #656 - Sep 27^th, 2015 at 1:15am	Print Post
	Currently wondering how large an army Our Heroine is gonna need in Book 4. Deciding that requires research which I'm starting. Now if my eyes will just hold out.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #657 - Sep 27^th, 2015 at 3:57am	Print Post
	Reading over parts of Book 4 makes me want to tear a certain character's throat out. Unfortunately that would screw up the plot.-- which would be *bad. One thing I do know is that if this situation was happening in my real life, I'd be on the warpath and the bitch in question would be one sorry little girl when I was done -- provided that she survived which would be by no means certain. I'm gonna have to dig deep* to keep the plot "on track" and not end things prematurely.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #658 - Sep 28^th, 2015 at 3:46am	Print Post
	Doing a little work on Book 4. Can't do much at the moment though. WP is in my lap and I can't get close enough to the computer to comfortably read the word document. I know what sort of incidents I need for Book 4 and since we're going to a state park tomorrow, I'll haul my writing kit along and maybe get some work done.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #659 - Sep 29^th, 2015 at 2:05am	Print Post
	I've run into a serious problem of an architectural nature that will require me to go through ALL THREE BOOKS to find the places that need to be fixed once I have the architectural problem fixed. I'll be have much "fun" with graph paper before this is over with. Again with the...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #660 - Oct 1^st, 2015 at 7:11pm	Print Post
	I've decided to make the castle longer north to south because I'm going to have to draw it much, much smaller for the "area map" and it will be easier to do if it is 2 or 3 times longer than it is wide. So it will be longer which means some areas will be bigger. I'm going to divide the increase between the original castle and the military base to keep it symmetrical and once the area map is done I'll have an ironclad reference for where things are located in relation to the castle, how big they are and "line of sight." I may put "contour lines" on the map too if there is a significant difference in altitude.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #661 - Oct 1^st, 2015 at 7:47pm	Print Post
	Just "fixed" the new castle complex dimensions. 430 feet by 1,720 feet which will make it much easier to draw on a smaller scale. The floorplan for the entire complex will be 43 inches by 172 inches or 4.7 yards. Good thing I bought more paper today......
	« Last Edit: Oct 1^st, 2015 at 8:15pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #662 - Oct 2^nd, 2015 at 2:42am	Print Post
	I've been trying to design/draw a compass rose for the maps I'll be making but with "feline help" I'm not making much progress. Maybe tomorrow when they're all asleep......


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #663 - Oct 9^th, 2015 at 1:14am	Print Post
	I really need "staff" tonight or at least a cook. I've finally figured out how the Bad Guys get Our Heroine where they want her (outside the castle's protections), I'm trying to work out the details so the new section meshes with what follows and I'm going to have to start fixing dinner in 20 minutes or less. It's pizza night so I'll be able to work while the dough is rising but I still hate having to stop writing long enough to make the dough.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #664 - Oct 9^th, 2015 at 2:26am	Print Post
	The dough is rising and I have about 40 minutes more or less to write.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #665 - Oct 9^th, 2015 at 2:33am	Print Post
	Damn! What kind of "monster" do I use?


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #666 - Oct 9^th, 2015 at 2:54am	Print Post
	I need a critter that can be killed by steel (the energy weapons and projectile firearms are "offline") and big enough to give a group of fourteen a fight. It might be time to wash some dishes....
	« Last Edit: Oct 9^th, 2015 at 2:54am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #667 - Oct 9^th, 2015 at 3:09am	Print Post
	Found one. But now I have to finish dinner. Oh well, I know what they'll be fighting and the fight will take some time to choreograph.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #668 - Oct 9^th, 2015 at 4:11am	Print Post
	Dinner is served.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #669 - Oct 10^th, 2015 at 2:45am	Print Post
	Writing and making some headway. The beginning of another scene popped into my head and I'm getting it down so I'll have a starting point when the rest of it makes itself known.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #670 - Oct 10^th, 2015 at 4:56am	Print Post
	Currently composing a genocidal death spell. Gonna wipe out a whole race since they do NOT know how to play nice with others and Our Heroine has had it up to her eyebrows with them. It needs work but the necessary elements are there.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #671 - Oct 13^th, 2015 at 2:41am	Print Post
	I've tried to write this evening but my eyes are hurting too much. I can neither see clearly nor concentrate. I've been fooling around with Samgaran "heraldry" -- insignia for bloodlines, guilds, the Order of Dark Knights, various businesses and such -- to keep me from screaming in frustration over my eyesight. I know that this situation isn't permanent and that, hopefully, by this time next year my eyesight will be better but dang it! Not being able to see anything clearly is frustrating! At least the business sign for Crowhaven's premier public ballroom/event venue is coming along. Moonie's gonna help with the necessary artwork since I don't want to use an illustration from the internet. I have the lettering settled if I can figure out how to make it look like I want.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #672 - Oct 20^th, 2015 at 1:32am	Print Post
	I've been adding names to Book 4 where I've been using placeholders. I finally found what I needed in the Character Naming Sourcebook and I'm getting those irritating "XX"s replaced. One part of Book 4 that I'm going to have to write is a "flashback" from the period when Our Heroine was held captive in another reality and it's gonna be hard. Maybe impossible but I hope not. The reason is because it involves an "emotional trigger" for me. It isn't a "classical" trigger in that it triggers a memory or flashback but it does evoke a strong physical response that if pushed could result in me "flipping out" (to use an old slang term) to the point of violence. (And before you ask, the therapist we consulted told us that I could spend years in therapy with no result because I don't remember anything that could have caused the trauma in the first place and without knowing the cause, improvement couldn't be expected.) I'm careful and can avoid the "trigger" most of the time and since it is somewhat prevalent in our society, I've learned to manage the mildest reaction -- which I'm having right now incidentally -- so I'm not gagging/throwing up every time it comes up. But. Still. Just writing about it in this circumspect and roundabout way is enough to make me gag. So. Writing about it happening to Our Heroine and witnessed by one of her daughters is going to be hard, as I said. Maybe impossible. And now, I'm going to stop and get myself in hand. My throat is feeling very tight right now....
	« Last Edit: Oct 20^th, 2015 at 1:34am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #673 - Oct 30^th, 2015 at 7:10pm	Print Post
	Working on Book 4 right now before my eyes give out. I'm not working on the above mentioned section. I'll need to have Skywise around to give the needed hugs when things get too intense and he's at work now. I'd added some new material in various places and highlighted areas that needed to be brought into line with the new stuff so I'm doing that. I'm also adding odd bits of new material that lead into some sections that are already written. It's not unusual for me to start a scene in the middle with a conversation or maybe only a line and then go back and write the beginning of the scene at a later date. I'm doing� some of that now. It may seem like a weird way to work but it works for me. I don't "write by committee" so I can arrange things to suit myself and take my time to get it like I want it.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #674 - Oct 30^th, 2015 at 7:17pm	Print Post
	Now, I have to write a conversation in which Our Hero is told, in no uncertain terms, that his sexual performance is woefully "inadequate" and therefore his presence in Our Heroine's bed is not required without being vulgar. No easy feat. Our Heroine has a sharp tongue and knows how to use it but that's a situation I've never had to deal with so.... I have a feeling that this is going to take a number of tries to get right. The point is to provoke Our Hero into a blind rage so it must be carefully done to be believable.....


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