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Quote, remember? In this case refers to Book IV having turned sullen and uncooperative, largely because of interruptions to its previously flowing progress. And one of the interruptions was the preparatory period for Easter. Hence the quote seemed to fit very well.Where we are now in the book is a curious place where I’m writing in fill-in backstory and sidestory, because the main story sagged. This happens in every book, and in every book I hope it won’t…that I’ve gotten past that stage in my writing career and from here on out books will simply flow forth–if not effortlessly, at least without this annoying mid-book sense of having driven into a particularly gooey mudhole. Sometimes it means I’ve gone wrong, but usually it’s just a difficult period of slog, slog, slog, putting words into the file even while knowing that lot of them will have to be deleted later.
The only thing that works is doing just that…laying down one day’s layer of words on another until finally something internal switches into gear and the story takes off and runs to the end. Feeling like the Little Engine that Couldn’t Quite is part of the drill.
One amusing thing that will probably be axed by Editor if not me is a scene in which a midwife lectures two grizzled old armsmasters on what exercises a pregnant swordswoman should and should not be given between now and the birth. I realized, getting into it, that the midwives in Tsaia and Fintha both would have had these conversations many times. Girdish women who are pregnant don’t quit training–and the young inexperienced ones won’t know what they should/shouldn’t do. It was an interesting insight into the midwife’s character, the armsmasters’ characters, and (in hindsight) how these societies have assimilated women as soldiers.
Very different from my experiences in the military decades ago. When a woman got pregnant, she was in disgrace. As with many people now, the presumption is that “she got herself pregnant” (as if a man and his wigglers had nothing to do with it) and the responsibility all rested on her. I knew a woman who got pregnant all right–by an officer supervising her, which brings up the whole issue of unequal power–and at the time there were no maternity uniforms (at least that’s improved!) Very tough time for her.
Still, the scene hasn’t shown itself to be plot-necessary yet, but then the plot is sitting on the side track, huffing and puffing a little but not going anywhere. So meantime, I’m piling words into the coal car (or equivalent for stories, whatever that is) and trying to figure out exactly what Dragon is up to. Dragon is not cooperative either, and unlike characters is not the least intimidated by authorial authority.
Comment by Chris in South Jersey — April 25, 2011 @ 8:19 am
I was a WAF circa 1973 when I married and became pregnant. I remember having to write a letter stating my desire to remain on active duty and also provide documentation showing what I was going to do for child care. I was able to wear my uniform well into my sixth month, then civilian maternity clothes. Despite both mother and father in the AF, he enlisted in the Army. Ah well.
Comment by Dave Ring — April 25, 2011 @ 10:38 am
I suspect the enforced time spent on back/side story has a lot to do with the depth and consistency of your final results. At some level, your subconscious probably decides you’ve reached a limit of new stuff it needs to chew on before Story can rush on.
Comment by elizabeth — April 25, 2011 @ 10:49 am
Dave…that may be it. At least, it’s a flattering explanation of the slogging through the mud period.
Comment by Jonathan Schor — April 25, 2011 @ 10:54 am
Could the back/side story material be published? Since you are doing the work, I think that most of your followers would be willing to pay for reading it.
Comment by elizabeth — April 25, 2011 @ 10:54 am
Presently waiting for farrier to arrive to trim the horses. Red horse (Mac) is being a PITA today. If you follow me on Twitter, you know more details, but not all. He’s a QH with some racing TB blood, which gave him the bad hooves and possibly his attitude problems, though I blame early training. He pushes boundaries anyway and today came with the attitude of “I don’ wanna, you can’t make me, you aren’t the boss of me.”
Wrong.
Comment by Genko — April 25, 2011 @ 10:58 am
When I get that slogging through the mud feeling (and I think it comes up in every endeavor at some point), I inevitably think of Frodo in the land of Mordor. He and Sam are just slogging along with the burden getting heavier and heavier and hope getting farther and farther away. I do think it’s integral to the process in some way, and it sounds like you are honoring it the best you can.
Comment by elizabeth — April 25, 2011 @ 12:31 pm
And Mac discovered that this attitude does not impress either me or my excellent farrier. He had to discover it for three of four hooves, however.
Comment by MaryW — April 25, 2011 @ 7:29 pm
This sounds like some teenagers that I know well. Three now older sons had to test every single thing.
Comment by Kip Colegrove — April 25, 2011 @ 8:38 pm
My experience of Easter every year is that it seems to make everything I have do do denser and heavier–not lighter, as you might think, the seasonal theme being resurrection, new life, etc. I think the reason is that the special activities that go along with it supersede even very important things…such as the grant application my two parishes have to complete by May 2. It makes sense that this combination of distraction, deferral and compression would affect the process of writing stories.
Comment by elizabeth — April 25, 2011 @ 10:09 pm
For me, a good part of that is the attempt to treat Lent seriously…it’s very inward, and is definitely denser and heavier–like sinking slowly to the bottom of a pond. Hard to breathe mentally and harder as Holy Week gets closer. All the liturgical seasons run across the boundaries of the secular calendar and social expectation, but Lent makes that disconnect particularly painful. Added to that is the heavier load of music prep…and this year, with the St. John Passion, on top of the Passion Week and Easter music, it was a really, really big undertow.
Comment by Anne — April 26, 2011 @ 6:38 am
Oh! Now I got all curious about what exercises midwives DO recommend in the eight kingdoms compared to our world… (And a bad thing since it’s a so long waiting left for book three, I won’t be able to concentrate on my current fantasy-reading with my mind all occupied…)
Please do publish it somewhere if it gets removed from the actual book!
Comment by elizabeth — April 26, 2011 @ 8:25 am
Lucky are the women whose Marshals are women who’ve had children. I knew a woman once who trained and rode horses, and (unbeknownst to her ob-gyn, whom she knew would not approve) kept riding, including over fences. She quit riding over fences when the “bounce” became uncomfortable, and quit riding only when she had to have help to make it into the saddle. Had (at the time I knew her) two healthy children, and she’d ridden through almost all of both pregnancies. Now we know that athletic women can continue to practice their sport long after previous generations were told they had to quit (or never start serious athletics in the first place. My mother was told that if a woman swam as much as a mile, her uterus would fall out. I was told that about running.)
Comment by Chris — April 26, 2011 @ 9:23 am
Yes, do remember that you have slavering (*politely* slavering) fans who love your “outtakes.”
Comment by elizabeth — April 26, 2011 @ 9:35 am
Chris: You have seen only the better “outtakes.” Writing is a messy business; there are many pages of slush-pile level junk lying around. You will not see those. You would not love them. You would say “Ye gods, how did this woman ever write [favorite passages] and then write this dreck???”
Comment by Eir de Scania — April 26, 2011 @ 12:11 pm
But the better outtakes is great to have on the website! 🙂
Comment by Jenn — April 26, 2011 @ 5:40 pm
I laugh when I think how it is thought today that pregnant women are so fragile. Geez you think of pioneer women who pulled plows until they gave birth or walked the Oregon trail. Or the slave women. How many had their children in the fields? There was no stopping for the “delicacy” of their condition. Life doesn’t stop just because you are carrying another one. And women are tough cookies.
Comment by FrancisT — April 27, 2011 @ 10:03 am
Jenn:
I laugh when I think how it is thought today that pregnant women are so fragile. …. And women are tough cookies.
Although Jenn it has to be pointed out that lots of women and even more babies died in earlier days. I mean yes we’ve probably gone overboard on the protectiveness these days but there’s a ‘too casual’ end of affairs too
Comment by Kaye — April 28, 2011 @ 9:11 am
What amazes me is the observation that today, women who don’t take care of themselves, exercise, eat a healthy diet, and try to space their offspring seem to be incredibly fertile, while women who do all those responsible things are doing in vitro fertilization or adopting orphans. Does nature know better?
Comment by elizabeth — April 28, 2011 @ 10:34 am
Kaye, that’s an interesting topic, but it’s not really right for this blog, as it doesn’t touch on writing or the Paksworld books. As it happens, I do know a fair bit about the causes of differential fertility (medical background and personal experience) but I just don’t want to talk about it here. No blame, just sayin’. Elsewhere, sure.
Comment by Kaye — April 28, 2011 @ 10:29 pm
HUA!–Sorry…
Comment by elizabeth — April 28, 2011 @ 10:51 pm
No worries. I’m not upset or anything.
Comment by Keenan — May 12, 2011 @ 1:10 am
I think that Dave brings up a very good point. It makes sense that the rich detail and depth that your characters and their world have would only come from all that effort put in to side and back story. All that slogging, as you put it, is only adding more flavor to the final product. It seems to me that is where it goes from being a reporting of fictitious events to a relatable story that pulls right in.
I’m just saying, those details don’t happen by accident.