WIP Wednesday Goes Green
17 Mar
Happy St. Pat’s y’all. Today is a day of Guinness and furious writing in this house.
Not that that has anything to do with St. Pat’s or any Irish-American-ness (of which I have a great deal– totally different breed from proper Irish, and we’re well aware of this.*). In truth it’s no different than any other day, except that I had a semi-acceptable excuse for pouring my first pint at lunch. I hardly ever feel justified in this unless I’m at my parents’– in which case a lunch drink is compulsory.
Anyhow, enough of my glamorous beer-sodden life! Writing frenzy for the day began with a bit of editing, but now I’m about to launch back into Plaguebringer properly and see how much I can spit out in the next few hours. The good news is I’m over 80k just now. The bad news is that I don’t have a proper outline for the rest of it, as I’ve finally tied off my initial threads and now just need to knot them up, then slice said knot with as much blood and pain as possible.
Fun stuff, but daunting.
So for something different this time, here’s a weird descriptive passage. This is Rufus’s first look at The Engine, a clockwork monstrosity of dubious function rumored to be from the Dark Ages– and to drive people mad. But that’s totally impossible, right? Right!
Five yards square easily, perhaps only a foot or two deep, a mobile wall of indefinable silvery metal. It shone like dark water reflecting the moon and stars, with the occasional shimmer that made him look twice, never seeing the same light in the same place. The thing was a mass of cogged wheels and arbors held together by a partial framework, which looked like nothing so much as the web of a spider who’d been fed l’anisea. Flattened metal spokes emerged from a vaguely central point, but at odd intervals, and more spokes would rise off of those on occasion, growing more and more delicate with every branch. These connected to various arbors, joining the wheels in a discordant but elegant mesh. The inner workings, dozens of wheels varying in size from four feet tall to one inch in diameter, were so densely packed into the framework that the wall behind it was completely obscured.
Looking at the thing gave Rufus a sharp pain just behind the middle of his forehead.
ETA: it occurs to me that I should say that l’anisea is a sort of liquid peyote. Context clues no doubt told you that, but I figure it’s worth a mention.
*See Dropkick Murphys for confirmation. Or any other US-based Paddy Rock band, actually. Including the one I’m listening to just now, even if the singer is actually Irish.
—————-
Now playing: Flogging Molly – Salty Dog
via FoxyTunes
Mmm…Guinness…
Last St Paddy’s, we went to a great Irish place in the NYNY casino called Nine Fine Irishmen. Curry Chips, Shepherd’s Pie, and Harp, sitting out in the sun on a miniature version of the Brooklyn Bridge.
This year: dieting. (sad face)
Gorgeous description… Now go get drunk.
Jeremy, you are a man after my own heart. Oh god, curry chips are the fucking meaning of life. Why, oh why, are they not easier to get here?
What a day to be dieting :/
Cate, working on it! Wooo! (Don’t worry, I won’t attempt a jig. I’m sore from my workout yesterday. Lucky for everyone.)
I was really hoping for video footage you doing a jig. Way to go for over 80K. That’s awesome. Do you usually write by outline? What are your outlines like?
Welcome to the Machine, Rufus ; )
M-G, I hate to disappoint, but I really am sore! I do usually write by outline, just for pacing purposes, especially if there’s more than one thread involved. And they’re ridiculously vague. For example (CAPITALS mean PoV character, oddly enough):
Chapter 12:
1. ELAN and Ilidh greet Rufus upon his return.
2. Osgar tells RONAN he’s going to the Islands. The Aidhan kids are cute.
3. CAMI has dinner with Osgar. Also, sex.
4. NIEVA crashes Elan’s lesson with the Prince. She immediately starts chatting Ronan’s ear off about the Engine.
… not an exact science, no.
Nat, he likes it. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m sure he does.
Sensory detail like this is just too beautiful. I’m an imagery guy…oh, that’s the good stuff.
Drinks for everyone!
Mmmm, peyote
Have a wonderfully furious writing session!
Aaron, I’m an imagery girl, so I completely understand. It’s kind of lame out of context, but it’s so, so important to me.
Mary, thanks! I totally did– except most of it doesn’t make sense now I’m sober. Hm.