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I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that since September 5, I’ve been involved in Terie Garrison’s “Great Invitational Word Race” again, in which writers of all experience levels set a goal and see how close they can come. Best part (besides being pushed to write every day) is that Terie found a cool counter with a horse and rider and racetrack, and we pick horse names and so on. She makes the counter work with our reported words written, so you can see how your horse lines up with the others. You can see it here.
Desert Orchid and I have been partners all along (he’s an old gray gelding instead of an old gray mare, but it still fits.)
This time I had days of no production (traveling, sick, etc, including this past week) and we lost the lead we’d kept for several days…but today I had a really good writing day, making up what I hadn’t done this week: 3418 words. And that took me not only to within 889 words of my stated goal (20,000) but over 160,000. I did not expect to get that far today. I hope the quick recovery (in writing) from the days with none because of illness means the book is now moving the way a nearly-finished draft should…galloping to the finish like Desert Orchid at the Gold Cup. (I’ve seen the video of that race. Watched it over and over. AMAZING horse.)
Comment by Ann — September 28, 2011 @ 3:40 pm
This has no bearing on your post other than to realize that oh somwhere areound 1988, 2 years after I finished high school I read one of your books for the first time. I had struggled with being so young out of school, 16, and not sure what direction to go in even though I went off to college right away.
I had no anchor and my father was ill and would soon pass away. I remember reading Sheepfarmer’s daughter and thinking it was a great dose of non-reality in all the reality swimming around me.
All these years later and many readings since, I realized that a few fictional characters brought me peace in all that chaos and that as I grew into who I am today that I still go back and dive back into the original three stories and it helps to center me. Yes, great characters to stimulate my mind, but also at different points in the original story I find myself remembering things that were occuring around me and then it becomes more than a story about fictional characters. I have always had a seriously clinical case of ADD butI could always focus on your stories and it was unusual and only now some 22 years later can I even begin to articulate how having something that had become so familiar as your characters would help me keep the focus I needed to make through those really tough times and still keeps me centered today.
I’m not explaing this well I imagine as I’ve never put it into words…
All I can say is thanks for helping me keep my memories and look forward to the next ones!
Comment by Ann — September 28, 2011 @ 3:40 pm
So much for editing my own content…lol
Comment by Abigail Miller — September 28, 2011 @ 9:34 pm
I see you’ve passed the post. Congratulations!
Comment by Richard — September 30, 2011 @ 10:14 pm
Ann, I think you explained yourself very well.
Though a decade and a half older than you and only discovering the Paks books last year (through the UK omnibus edition coming out to go with the new Fealty), I too found them engrossing, stimulating (that is why I keep following this website) moving and, yes, inspiring. I have just had a “minor” operation – hernia repair, in-and-out of hospital the same day, routine to them though not to me, and it was Paks I took in to keep me company in the waiting room. I hope I’ll still be coming back to her – and to the current series – for as long as you already have been.
Yes Paks lives in another world, but it is the realism of characterisation and the sheer messiness of that world – down to little details such as her being the only fantasy hero I’ve ever met who has to go to the jacks like us – that make her troubles so believable, and thus her overcoming of them, and the goodness she finds in many of the people around her, so encouraging.
Comment by John — October 22, 2011 @ 10:12 am
Desert Orchid.A well loved and successful racehorse,a very appropriate choice.