Weekly Writing Stuff:
August 2nd - 1,519 words, end of Chapter 8
August 2nd - 837 words, start Chapter 9
August 3rd - 2,438 words
August 4th - 1,614 words
August 5th - 647 words
August 7th - 1,372 words, end Chapter 9
Weekly Total: 8,427 words
I'll tell you, I don't know why Mondays always seem to be such non-writing days. I know why I have weekly slow-downs around Wednesday - Saturday...
Given my husband's work schedule and all, I get most of my work done on days that he's also working, which is to say Sunday through Tuesday and every other Wednesday. I'm getting better at it through lack of options, but I still have a hard time writing when someone's in the room.
Part of it is the distraction thing: other people in the room talk, mutter, move around, play video games, watch TV, etc. And I am incredibly nosy... if Kevin's on WoW and he's typing a lot, I'll almost always ask him who he's talking to, what's up, anything interesting going on...
The other part is the self-conscious thing: I don't know exactly why - I mean, I'm not ashamed of writing - but it somehow feels twitchy and wrong to be doing it in front of another person.
And even worse, this week at least, was that I'd come up onto the old debate: Have a sex scene or do not have a sex scene.
For nine chapters now I've been working on this relationship between the two main characters and now that they've finally admitted that they care about each other....
It is actually a debate, the whole sex-scene thing. And it's a weird one.
I mean, first off, I'll admit, I like to read them... in books where there's a well-established plot and interesting characters, etc. However, I generally skim them, second-read around... (of course, I also skim through long descriptive passages of flora and fauna, which is why the Clan of the Cave Bears series only takes me a few days to get through, since I'm not reading 90% of the novel ANYWAY) unless they're really well-written and I haven't come across that many that were that well done.
On the other hand, I always hate the concept of a "gratuitous sex scene" in movies and novels... if it advances the plot, great. If not, thanks, there are porno movies available to rent, and I'll take advantage of that at my leisure...
Still, sex scenes do a lot for a word count...
To cut to the point, I decided to write it, on the basis of if I didn't like it, or it wasn't necessary, I could cut it out later.
I think it works... mostly. And I didn't have too much in the way of purple language (sex scenes tend to work that way, for some reason. it's either crude or purple...) And I managed to keep most of the actual plot-relevant conversation out of it (altho there is some character relevant conversation in there, very good for development and insight) so if I decide to cut the scene later, I don't have to scramble to make sure I've covered the important bits. (no, that pun wasn't intended, but hey.)
Now, I'm getting better about writing with another person in the room, although I am by no means as comfortable as say, Harlan Ellison, who I understand works on novels at conventions and signings and posts his work on the wall behind him as he finishes for people to read (nerves of steel, that one). But writing a sex scene... with my husband in the room. Nope. Was not going to happen.
Which is why my word count sort of dribbled out on the days he was home and then geared up again on Sunday. When I was by myself again. (Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, I just know you're thinking it.)