Badtux the Snarky Penguin

In a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin.

Religious fundamentalists are motivated by the sneaking suspicion that someone, somewhere, is having fun -- and that this must be stopped.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

84000 words

The second draft of the crime novel *still* known as The Fixer (sigh!) is now done, with significant changes to add meat in the middle and prepare us for the denoument (those couldn't be in the first draft because I didn't know who did what at the time I was writing the first draft!), a revised/enhanced ending, and several new character. It is now up to 84,000+ words, i.e., a commercially viable length.

I'm asking for volunteers to read it and point out logic or continuity errors and make suggestions for enhancements. I already have one continuity error that I noticed just scanning over it, where she calls Doc Feelgood and asks him about the guy in the garage, several chapters after she finds out from the cops who the guy in the garage was. That can be patched. But that's only one of them.

I will be starting on a third draft shortly, after I re-import the second draft into OpenOffice, print it out, and red-pencil and sticky note it to death. There will be some new material where it makes sense, and some of the older material is going to go away because it isn't needed. There's characters who appear only once who probably need to either go away or be encountered again later, and I want Kathy to solve more of the case without it being dumped in her lap in one big lump via deus ex machina. There is also some setup I tried to do for the ending involving Consuela and Kathy's relationship with her foster father and high school coach that didn't really work, I need to figure that out and re-write, that's a ball I fumbled. And finally there is the sex/not sex scene with Wallace that needs more work. Consuela is being a bad girl in this second draft :).

If interested EMAIL can be sent to me or you can comment here (with an EMAIL address, assuming a throw-away one) if you're interested in reading the whole thing. Again, note that this is a *DRAFT*. It is not a finished final product. But this is a lot closer to the final product than the first draft was, and reading it critically and dropping a line as to what doesn't work will be much more useful with this one.

- E.L.G.

Posted by: BadTux / 6/01/2006 11:20:00 PM

Comments:

Hell, I've been working on a story of my own for over a year now, and I ain't makin' dick for progress. You're more fortunate than you realize. Someday I'll get around to reading yours, but I don't know when...
# posted by Mimus Pauly : 2/6/06 1:54 AM

There's an old rule in the software biz that applies, which is, 'even shit code is better than no code'. Although in some cases (e.g. Microsoft), the world probably would have been better off with no code :-).

Just write. If what you're writing isn't working, write something else. The original predecessor of "The Fixer" turned out to be uncomfortable to write, and would have been uncomfortable to read (think Kathy Varis teen years), so I plucked the protagonist up bodily, made her older, and put her into a neo-noir. Will I ever write that other novel? Doubtful. But I didn't stop writing, that's the important part.

-BT
# posted by BadTux : 2/6/06 1:58 PM

But I didn't stop writing, that's the important part.

That's so true. About 10 years ago I attempted to write a romance/adventure, and when technology overtook my narrative, and my unemployment had run out, I put it down and got a job. Never picked it up again. so sad

I keep sayin' "one of these days...."

I'd volunteer for the proof reading, but I don't know if I could keep it straight between what I've read here, your first draft and the second... send it if you will, I'd love to read it anyway, and I would try not to take forever... *chuckle*
# posted by SB Gypsy : 3/6/06 9:44 AM

I'd be interested in reading it. I'm a night help desk person and I have a lot of time on my hands sometimes.
Also, apropos of nothing, I read your profile and saw you like the Penguin Cafe Orchestra! So few people have ever heard of them. Got to see them live several years ago and it was quite the experience. I loved it!
throw-away email: shaia57@hotmail.com
# posted by Dee : 3/6/06 8:10 PM

I've read some of it and found it to be pretty darned good. I haven't had the time to read all as you posted, though.
I always wanted to write, but didn't do much until I joined the Practical Press. Of course, I started a longer story than I usually write, only to get stuck and haven't looked at it for ages.
# posted by oldwhitelady : 4/6/06 5:35 AM

Honor Roll

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More to follow, after I finish cursing SOB chickenhawks and get my breath back...

"Keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce." -- Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

-- Plato

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