Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Hail the Pajama Queen (aka Coming Up for Air)

No seriously. It is now 8:30 pm and I am still in my pj's. I woke at 4:32 to dreams of Peace Maker plot sorties. Unable to go back to sleep, I got up around 5:30 and at 7:01 a.m. sat down to read my book from cover to finish. I edit as I go, jotting down notes for larger issues to be addressed such as:

  • cut and pastes;
  • POV breaks;
  • need for names that don't start with S or M (so far I have six S names and at least three M's, WTYKW);
  • threads to pull;
  • threads to tie up;
  • clarifications;
  • foreshadowing;
  • and assorted other lovelies
I am happy to share that I  have logged eleven hours today in edits and am now on page 123 (out of 410). Here is a snippet from the last scene edited:
"The Reptilian stared at his opponent, a battle-scarred Ecthelian. The ugly creature’s only hope of living until tomorrow was killing Nergal. Circling the room on great, clawed feet, Nergal observed the lizard’s movements. He knew its weak spots and was about to close in when a buzzing interrupted his concentration. He glanced at the hologram. A message awaited him. The Fomorian was receiving information from the woman. 
He looked back to the spot where the Ecthelian had been. It was gone. With a groan, he wheeled on sturdy hind legs and when it leapt and sunk needle-sharp teeth in to his throat, he regretted having looked at the screen. In spite of the lancing pain, Nergal reacted swiftly, prying the jaws loose with hands as hard as steel. As he yanked he heard a grinding crack. Putting his back in to the task, he tore the lizard’s face apart. 
But dinner would have to wait. Leaving it lying in a pool of its own blood, Nergal strode out of the arena to his office. Wiping his hands, he activated the screen with a curt, “Receive incoming.”
Okay, gross. Did I write that? Eeeeww. This is part of the reason I don't like writing bad guys. Or lizards.

Don't you love unexpected days when you get to ignore everything in your life except writing, eating and bodily functions? Yeah. Me too. OH. And the cat. Must not forget the attention-loving, four-legged, furred one.

Happy One of Those Days ~ Olivia J. Herrell


1 comment:

A.T. Post said...

Ooh...Nergal. I know that entity from the Hellboy mythos. This is making me really want to read your work. Keep up the hard work!

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