After the 5,500+ words added the day before, Day 9 was far less stressful. I actually didn't even make the 1,667 daily goal, but I feel like I got far more out of my novel with the scenes that I did add.
I've always been of the mind that the story knows what it's doing. My job as the writer is just to keep out of its way when it's on a roll. That was Day 9. I realized that I gave Pillar (yes, the Caterpillar) an awful lot of responsibilities. He pretty much runs everything all by himself. And I mean everything. And as much as I can picture him doing this, the practical part of my brain kicks into gear and reminds me that it is not physically possible for him to do all the things that he does, even if I do suspend my disbelief because he's an otherworldly creature. Now it's going to sound like I spent hours over this, but the truth is that it only took a minute or two of reflection before everything fell into place. I had to think about what it is exactly that I owe Pillar credit for. It was a very long list. Then I thought about his greatest contributions, not so much for their society so much as just really showing off the extent of his capabilities. And that display is quite evident in his invention of the Tweedles, a technology live-organism hybrid. Clearly he has the technology and the know-how. Why wouldn't he make his life easier by making his own? Knowing Pillar, his work is too important and relies far too heavily on his genius so hiring people is completely out of the question. He isn't very trusting. However, a few copies of himself who share a common memory fits everything about his personality and his need to do all of the work that he does. He even named them. He called them his extra hands. Wasn't a brilliant name but if that's what he wanted, well, they're his invention so why not? It wasn't until after that it hit me. HE'S THE FREAKING CATERPILLAR! HE NEEDS EXTRA HANDS!!!
This may be why I didn't reach the full 1,667 words. This revelation had me dancing in circles and I had to tell everyone how truly clever Pillar is. I'm telling you, I have nothing to do with how these things all fall into place.
So that was my low word count victory. I am so close to launching Hatfield through the looking glass. The revision was so necessary and I can't imagine how it would have played out in that first attempt!
Onward I go!
I've always been of the mind that the story knows what it's doing. My job as the writer is just to keep out of its way when it's on a roll. That was Day 9. I realized that I gave Pillar (yes, the Caterpillar) an awful lot of responsibilities. He pretty much runs everything all by himself. And I mean everything. And as much as I can picture him doing this, the practical part of my brain kicks into gear and reminds me that it is not physically possible for him to do all the things that he does, even if I do suspend my disbelief because he's an otherworldly creature. Now it's going to sound like I spent hours over this, but the truth is that it only took a minute or two of reflection before everything fell into place. I had to think about what it is exactly that I owe Pillar credit for. It was a very long list. Then I thought about his greatest contributions, not so much for their society so much as just really showing off the extent of his capabilities. And that display is quite evident in his invention of the Tweedles, a technology live-organism hybrid. Clearly he has the technology and the know-how. Why wouldn't he make his life easier by making his own? Knowing Pillar, his work is too important and relies far too heavily on his genius so hiring people is completely out of the question. He isn't very trusting. However, a few copies of himself who share a common memory fits everything about his personality and his need to do all of the work that he does. He even named them. He called them his extra hands. Wasn't a brilliant name but if that's what he wanted, well, they're his invention so why not? It wasn't until after that it hit me. HE'S THE FREAKING CATERPILLAR! HE NEEDS EXTRA HANDS!!!
This may be why I didn't reach the full 1,667 words. This revelation had me dancing in circles and I had to tell everyone how truly clever Pillar is. I'm telling you, I have nothing to do with how these things all fall into place.
So that was my low word count victory. I am so close to launching Hatfield through the looking glass. The revision was so necessary and I can't imagine how it would have played out in that first attempt!
Onward I go!
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