Daynote - Thu 27 Feb
Sunshine and frost in the air.
A very crisp, chilly morning today, frost on the leaves in the woods. But the sun is there when I got out now, fully above the horizon, and if you stand still for a moment you can feel its warmth on your face. Which brings to mind one of my favourite words - apricity, or 'the warmth of the sun on a cold day'.
ON DECK: A good session this morning, writing a new POV character engaged in some tense conversation. After yesterday's outlining today's writing went well, getting 1,715 words in a little over an hour. I'm at 95k now.
LISTENING: I really enjoyed this episode of Scriptnotes about 'puzzle box' storytelling - how to introduce nested mysteries and characters who aren't what they seem while toeing the very fine line between intrigue and irritation.
WATCHING: We watched a couple of episodes of the second season of KLEO on Netflix, which continues to be an excellent spy thriller with a very off the wall tone and fantastic production design. Great fun.
READING: Last couple of chapters of THE TYRANNY OF FAITH last night and I'm sooo close to finishing it. Cracking book.
LINK: I very much enjoyed this post from fellow 2024 debut Erin Becker - why marketing your book feels bad.
UP NEXT: One more day this week and I have perhaps 10-15 scenes left to write in this first draft. I suspect I'll write some big, over-length scenes and then do a bit of chopping and changing in the second draft to break them up a bit and resequence them for the most impact. But I'm pretty close to the end and starting to get that glorious end-of-draft rush that is just about my favourite kind of writing.
Onward!