I got to sleep in a whole hour this morning; 5:30 yay! I started my day with a cruise through social media, and a lot of bulldogs in my lap.
It was about 60 degrees outside today and bright sunshine. Pretty awesome. I went to lunch with an old work colleague, and enjoyed catching up with her. We could have had sloppy rain or even snow, so it was a nice day. The Boise area is awash in Autumn colors, so that only enhanced the day.
Otherwise, I pulled down my novella, The Hat, and looked at it with fresh eyes. It’s been fermenting in cyberspace for weeks now, and this is on purpose. A bit of distance seems to provide a more accurate vision.
I changed a few things, but not much. This was a first editing pass, not a deep search for problem words or anything like that. There is something different with this story, and I want to discuss that here.
In my novels, I usually reach a point where I’m sick to death of them. I’ve spent so much time with these characters that it wears me out. By the time they’re published I love them again, but it’s a cycle I’ve always gone through.
This story still excites me as much as when I first started. I suspect this has something to do with the length. It’s a novella, so I can read through it in one day. I also love a good buddy story, and this one fits that description.
I’m going to avoid the term “character driven” when I market it. I always thought it was a pretty good descriptor, but some bloggers have turned this into something bad. They claim it’s author-speak for a story with no plot or focus. (Psst, don’t tell anyone, but this is character drive fiction.) If you’ve enjoyed any of my characters in the past, you’re probably going to like these guys too.
I used some light-duty graphics in this story. One of the challenges when editing is keeping the graphics where they belong after rewording things. This may drive my formatter crazy, but I’m willing to pay extra to keep them. Don’t know how they’ll transfer when I share it with beta readers. I write in Pages, but email out in Word format.
I also started Sean Harrington working on some Lisa Burton promotional posters for this one. I have some fun ideas for them, and can’t wait to see the results of his magic.
All in all it was a great day. Got some decent work done, got to visit with an old friend that I also share a birthday with, now I get to watch the World Series. Can’t complain at all.
Good for you. Always good to have a great day.
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Even I get lucky on occasion.
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Ha ha ha
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Didn’t realize character-driven was now a bad thing. I’ve been using it for years since I thought my characters were a big draw. Good to know the change.
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I’ve seen it mentioned a couple of places. I think readers still like character drive stories. Someone decided it was a fall back term for those who can’t describe their stories correctly. Some of this kind of drives me crazy.
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I’m with you only the craziness. Some days it feels like people just enjoy putting negatives on terms. You’re probably right that readers still like character driven stories too. Fans tend to choose favorites and talk about characters more than anything else.
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Some people just like to break everything.
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We should just put those people on a demolition crew. Let them get it out of their system in a controlled and helpful environment.
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Good plan. A reprogramming center with explosives could make a decent story.
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Boom Therapy!
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Safe room – unsafe room.
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Flamethrower is extra though.
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I think that’s only fair.
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We can have a bring your own sledgehammer discounts too.
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Maybe landscapers could sponsor.
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Construction companies too.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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I love days like these… even if they are getting to be as rare as hens teeth!
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They are kind of rare, but it was more special that way. Thanks for all the sharing.
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our pleasure! X
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It really does sound like a good day — extra sleep, good weather, productivity, and pleasure. I might can have those things Sunday. We’ll see.
I am a fan of character-driven works. I prefer perspective over plot and I like character revelation or evolution, so I’m excited for The Hat 🙂
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Thanks, I’m excited too. Hope you get to have the nice Sunday.
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Thanks 🙂
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Wow, I love character-driven fiction. Didn’t know it had become a bad thing among some people.
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They were making a point about it becoming almost an empty statement. We’ve seen this happen to “Have a nice day.” It’s currently happening with “Thank you for your service.”
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Glad you were able to enjoy such a great day.
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It was nice.
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A shared birthday? That’s pretty cool. I hope you enjoyed the celebration!
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Our lunch was the day after. We kept mine pretty soft. It’s a work week and my wife has to get up at two am for her hospital shift. Hard to go to dinner or anything. We’ll probably go out this weekend sometime.
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Good for you! Lunch with a friend sounds like the perfect way to spend a well-needed day off.
I don’t think anyone knows what character-driven or plot-driven fiction even means. Without characters you have no plot. Without the plot you have no viable story. To me, these terms don’t promise the reader anything. IMHO, it’s better to nail the genre than rely on obscure terminology. Or maybe it’s just me.
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That seems best to me right now too.
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Yay for you! Days like this are gold dust 😀
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It was really nice. I love Fall anyway and a nice Fall day is always good.
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People say that about character-driven stories because they don’t understand them. And if they don’t understand it, it must be bad. My retort is, without a character there is no story.
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I don’t believe they’re bad, in fact it’s my preference. The term may have become a platitude, like have a nice day. I think we’re close to a platitude with “thank you for your service.”
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