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Plan of action re: Ice Palace book
I brainstormed in my novel diary re: what I need to do to get the book moving again. I tried to identify what it is that is making me get stuck and think of a plan of action to address the problems.
Points of unease:
Opacity of Jack
Vagueness about how Rolf and Jack are allied
Feel that book doesn't have enough characters. All I really have are Solveig, Ingrid, Agnes, Jack and Rolf.
Lack of knowledge about architecture
Unease about proposed climax of the book. I haven't really sold it to myself; to me it smacks too much of the climax of my first book. Ugh. Like chewing used chewing gum.
Have not convinced myself that I have figured out satisfactorily What Happens To Rolf
I don't know what the fish are up to.
What does magic have to do with the story? The emotional arc?
Unsure about the dream opening sequence.
I thought about that if writing this book is metafiction, then this book is about self-doubt. How does the ice palace fit in?
Plan of action:
1) For the next week, try freewriting any way I can think of to get into Jack's mind:
Write from the P-O-V of someone in his apartment building
Someone who sees him on the bus (does he ride the bus?)
A coworker (not Solveig)
Someone who sees him at the neighborhood coffeeshop (does he drink coffee?)
What would a journalist say who interviews him about architecture?
Try applying the questions in the List Yourself book.
2) Once I have finished reading Tim Powers' Declare, start to try reading possible source books. Architecture, esp. in Twin Ciites. Any folklore (esp. Scandinavian) re: fish.
3) Think about how much time should be devoted to writing (per day? per week?), no excuses.
4) Reassess status of Jack at beginning of October.
Points of unease:
Opacity of Jack
Vagueness about how Rolf and Jack are allied
Feel that book doesn't have enough characters. All I really have are Solveig, Ingrid, Agnes, Jack and Rolf.
Lack of knowledge about architecture
Unease about proposed climax of the book. I haven't really sold it to myself; to me it smacks too much of the climax of my first book. Ugh. Like chewing used chewing gum.
Have not convinced myself that I have figured out satisfactorily What Happens To Rolf
I don't know what the fish are up to.
What does magic have to do with the story? The emotional arc?
Unsure about the dream opening sequence.
I thought about that if writing this book is metafiction, then this book is about self-doubt. How does the ice palace fit in?
Plan of action:
1) For the next week, try freewriting any way I can think of to get into Jack's mind:
Write from the P-O-V of someone in his apartment building
Someone who sees him on the bus (does he ride the bus?)
A coworker (not Solveig)
Someone who sees him at the neighborhood coffeeshop (does he drink coffee?)
What would a journalist say who interviews him about architecture?
Try applying the questions in the List Yourself book.
2) Once I have finished reading Tim Powers' Declare, start to try reading possible source books. Architecture, esp. in Twin Ciites. Any folklore (esp. Scandinavian) re: fish.
3) Think about how much time should be devoted to writing (per day? per week?), no excuses.
4) Reassess status of Jack at beginning of October.
Fish 'N Stuff
What about the symbolism of fish in Christianity? The fish symbol that early believers used thats now been reduced to a bumper sticker?
Then there's the fairy tale about the poor fisherman who catches a magical fish that grants him wishes, but his wife keeps on wanting more & more.
Re: Fish 'N Stuff
Yeah, I need to trace fish imagery/symbology. The motif I seem to be drawn to the most is fish as symbol of wisdom.
Re: Fish 'N Stuff
Maybe you'll find this funny, but I'm tripping across fish left & right. It got so bad that when I walked into my neighborhood coffee shop & noticed that the owner was wearing a t-shirt with three fishes on it I nearly ran out the door screaming.
Did a little bit of looking into the astrological sign Pisces. One thing that I ran across is that they're a little too "otherworldly", and I thought maybe that's why you're having problems figuring out what the fish are up to. They're on a different plain, and _just_think_different.
Ta.