en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en pl en en en en en sv fr de de fr fr fr sv en fr en ja fr de fr es nb fr de en en sv de de fr en fr it fr de fr en en en en en en en en en ca en es es ru ne en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en pt en en en en en en en en en
Click here to become a Patron! Patrons have access to additional content including random parts of my process that don't make it here. They also have my deepest gratitude for supporting queer Montreal art!
Click here for a random post. Who knows? It could be fun.
Your regularly scheduled visit to the sandbox
I have decided to update Thursdays at 17:00 Eastern Time (GMT -4:00), which means I will be writing my posts in advance and scheduling them to publish at that precise hour. It’s what I did for my last post. I never feel right announcing any sort of plan until I’ve sort of succeeded at it, that way I never end up saying, “I shall do this!” and then it doesn’t happen.
I haven’t been keeping up with Camp NaNoWriMo unfortunately. People must have been validating their word counts since yesterday, while I have accepted a defeat of sorts. It’s not a real loss, though; I’m still writing most days at my snail’s pace, taking advantage of the train ride home. I find I’m lousy with my promise to write more on the weekend, though. I have a table set up in the corner of my living room with everything I need to write, including a pair of speakers I can plug my phone into so I can put some mood music on. So far this weekend, I’ve been playing Minecraft. Building towers is fun, building worlds is better… I have to remind myself of that.
I have reached a point in my story where most of the major characters have appeared. I have made some drastic changes from previous attempts; there is a master/apprentice pair, and this time, on  whim, I’ve decided to have them be romantically involved (the apprentice is of an appropriate age, don’t worry). Elsewhere, there is a murder, and the murderer then masquerades as his victim while all assume that he (the murderer) has fled. I am embracing inspiration, letting it take me a little off course, telling myself that if these changes don’t work out, I can fix them later.
The rough draft is my sandbox, where I can play and experiment and try things I might not dare to do if I take myself too seriously. This is my hobby, and I should have fun, right?
camp nano 2014 camp nanowrimo changes schedules taking chances
← Life After Life
Two books, one year →
3 thoughts on “Your regularly scheduled visit to the sandbox”
Its always great to have fun in the sandbox of the first draft. Sometimes you’ll find the characters have a better idea of how the story should work then you do. I love following my characters down the rabbit hole and often just work on nudging them only slightly onto a better course.
I wasn’t able to do Camp last month, but hope to be participating in the next one, they are so much fun, especially when you have an active cabin.
As for a schedule, good luck with that. I had a go with a schedule a while ago, it lasted all of a week. But perhaps posting daily was never the best idea.
Amaya Ells , May 3, 2014 at 7:26 pm
I had a great time posting daily in the beginning, but I was on break from work then. Also, I quickly ran out of things to write. I find weekly is much more sustainable; I’ve already got a post in the queue and ideas for another.
It’s really so much fun when the characters take on a life of their own and lead us places we didn’t expect to be.
Lukas Rowland , May 3, 2014 at 7:46 pm
I still want to post daily because I’m posting my stories directly and I want to be writing daily. I’m glad you’ve found something that works for you.
When the character starts having a life of their own that’s when you know you’ve done a good job. That’s when you’ve created a character that really feels like a real person. Because that’s the only time when they can start saying “I wouldn’t do that”.