Check-in post, day 11

[lola_mento]

Greetings, folks. On the matter of writing: How did it go? Did it go? This is the place where you boast and/or vent your frustrations!

And today's discussion theme is... deadlines. Do you find having a due date useful to get things done? Or are you unable to work under one? Do you usually wait up till the last minute to get things done? Or are you one of those unexplainable people who finish in the first few days?

Comments

[dchan]

I've been stalling horribly this month but I I got some fic written yesterday! I've got actual words on page now. I've got part of the opening scene of the first part (of 6) of my WC fic written, and the two characters have introduced themselves! (sort of).

One problem I'm having is I'm not quite sure what point of view this fic is going to be. I tend to write a single viewpoint character in a very tight 3rd person POV for RP, but in RP I only have to write one character in a scene instead of all of them. I feel like for this fic I'm moving into a bit of a more of an objective semi-omniscient viewpoint. The thing is, I think it would improve the story if the reader knows both main characters' thoughts and suspicions about each other throughout their meetings, but at the same time I also need the narration to be somewhat unreliable because I don't want the reader to know too much about what each character is hiding about themselves from the others. Augh! I have a feeling I will be fixing up a lot of POV and tense issues in edits but right now I just need to get WORDS ON THE (VIRTUAL) PAGE, DAMMIT!

[jagnikjen]

I've been stalling horribly

It happens, but don't let you get you down. Just get the words on paper, then they can be fixed.

And good luck with the whole thing.

[dchan]

Thank you! I've got about 300 words written so far but I'm not used to writing dialogue-driven pieces with multiple characters so the amount of witty banter I'm going to have to write has me wanting to run for the hills quite frequently.

What do people even TALK ABOUT in bars anyway? (Especially people who have just met in bars?) Most of the time when I am talking to people I don't know very well in public settings I'm too busy trying not to have an anxiety attack to really pay attention to the topic of conversation...

EXCERPT

[dchan]

And by "excerpt," I actually mean "everything that's made it past the outline stage," but w/e. [brackets] indicate author's notes intended to be removed in the final release.
----

Meeting 1: February 2005. Milan, Italy.

[Steve Tabernackle meets Michelle Akiyama in a bar during Milan fashion week.]

He surveyed the bar as he walked in. It was Fashion Week in here in Milan, which meant that every bar in the city would be completely packed with models, buyers, stylists...everyone who was anyone would be out to be seen this week. This bar was no exception, but there was one woman in particular that caught his eye from where he was standing.

The black sheath dress the woman was wearing was deceptively understated, but the effect of pairing it with a snow-white bolero and a red patterned silk scarf was quite striking. And though she was only of middling height, far too short to be a model, she carried herself with an air of confidence that made her seem much taller. He liked that. He sauntered over to the bar next to where she was standing and leaned up against it casually.

"Posso offrirti qualcosa da bere, signorina? Can I buy you a drink?"

The woman smiled. “Maybe. May I ask who’s offering?”

“Steve Tabernackle. But please, call me Steve.” He flashes her a dazzling smile and held out his hand. “And may I know the name of the beautiful lady I am buying for?”

“Well, aren’t you quite the charmer,” the woman said. “Michelle Akiyama.” She shakes his hand firmly but politely.

Steve motions to the bartender, who appears right away. Michelle raises her eyebrows slightly. Such prompt service is rare in a bar this busy; Steve must be a real high-roller. His clothing is expensive and impeccable, but of course this week of all weeks everybody will be dressed to be seen.

“Ketel One on the rocks for me, please, and whatever Miss Michelle here would like.”

“[gin martini perhaps? -- what is a classy, non-fruity drink for a woman anyway (but not a cosmo)? I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT COCKTAIL CULTURE AUGH D:]”

"An excellent choice. So, what brings you here this week? Are you a designer? Stylist? Fashion journalist?"

[CONTINUE WITTY BANTER HERE....]

Re: EXCERPT

[jagnikjen]

Very nice--thanks for sharing.

Couple of things--and I realize you may catch this in revisions...

1st, you change from past tense to present tense, and 2nd, there are a couple of places that could be more active.

For example, 2nd paragraph "was wearing" could (should) be changed to "wore" so that you don't have two instances of "was" in the same sentence. Also, in that same paragraph, last sentence, changing "was standing" to "stood".

Re: EXCERPT

[dchan]

Augh yeah, I always have tense issues in my first drafts. I have a tendency to slip into present tense when I am not thinking about it because I tend to see scenes in my head in present tense (sort of like a movie), but I prefer the way past tense flows overall. I was fussing with it a lot at first, but it was turning into one more excuse to not get more words on the page so I am trying very hard to ignore those issues for the time being.

Thanks, though. :)