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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.
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.