Monday, April 11, 2011

Progress Report: 4/11/2011

Well, things are busy and interesting at work. The short of it is that I got a promotion, which is quite gratifying. Also involves a lot of new duties and some fair amount of ambiguity.

I have had some time for writing. Huzzah! I find that when I've been away from the fiction keyboard for a few weeks, my first stabs at writing tend to be very melancholy in tone, with characters who feel very isolated and fundamentally lonely. I don't necessarily think that it makes the best reading, though. It's something I need to get out of the way before I can write something that's more fun and (frequently) true to the character. It's worked all right for writing Sharon's wheelchair life, but really it doesn't fit Gail very well.

But I've gotten my depressing draft out of the way, and the writing is going much better.

In terms of reading, I'm done with A Wise Man's Fear. I think it was something of a sophomore slump for a talented author, and as a case study it contains a lot of valuable lessons for writers. And... I think that's about all I'll say.

Here's the colored version of the next Rose & Jade picture. With the dragon and everything.