Routine Patterns

For a week, I've managed to work consistently on Vitamin Femme. I've established a routine: I wake up, write for an hour or two, go to work, read and goof off, write some more, then go to sleep.

I've accumulated several pages doing things this way. While those pages may not always be the greatest, I know that some of those pages are very strong. I'm proudest of the sequence where Bridgett discovers the truth behind the vitamins she takes each day. While I knew most of what I wanted out of the sequence, the writing held enough control to move things in a stronger direction.

Initially, I thought Bridgett would run away from her grandfather, but I knew that if she did, she wouldn't get some of the most important information (the contents of the vitamins). Instead of running, she freaks out, slapping her grandfather furiously until she draws blood. Once that happens, she vomits and passes out.

I've found a lot of detail in the last week as well, fleshing out the structure of the story and the values of several characters. For instance, one character is designed to be a caring feminine presence and a door to finding some form of paganism (mostly female culture). Through writing, I've discovered that Selena is quite compassionate, but also can be quite stern. She's a loving, firm, warm woman, who embraces her daughter, Penelope, dating Bridgett. In short, I didn't know that Selena was prone to lectures before, but now it sems a vital part of her character.

Titles and Other Troubles

First, let me mark the occasion of the passing of my favorite band from contemporary to history. Alas, Audioslave is no more... I'm currently playing their first CD in memoriam.

My crazy idea has managed to gain quite a bit of momentum. I've steadily written an average of a page a day on it this month. I wrote one of the key sequences on Friday morning and it worked out well. The writing took over just enough to improve the story, but not so much that I lost control over it.

One of the main elements of that scene is the explaination of the vitamins that Bridgett has been taking almost every day of her life. Since these vitamins are the major deus ex machina of the story, I started to realize that this might be something to build a title around.

The major transistions of the story are linked to the vitamins in some way. The first major transition is the revelation that these mundane vitamins, which have had an unusual amount of emphasis, are actually a hormone treatment. The second major transition ends with the removal of said vitamins from Bridgett's biochemistry.

At the beginning of the story, Bridgett thinks she's taking the vitamins because she has a Vitamin B-12 deficiency. Because of that, my mind started trying to label the vitamins--something like "Vitamin B" or "Vitamin M." Something that was fake, but still fitting.

Then it hit me. Not "Vitamin M," Vitamin Femme. In a way, it says exactly what's going on without giving the real story away. If this works as a title--and I need some feedback to let me know--I've got a cover image figured out. Show the left side of Bridgett's body from her nose down to her hip; her hand would be outstretched holding a pill in her hand.

Balance Issues

First of all, thanks to Jack and Jonathan--you guys have reminded me how much fun having a blog can be. I'm enjoying our ongoing discussion.

Last week, I was trying to focus on how to approach this crazy idea I've been working on. As I've already established, there's a severe feminine slant since most of the characters are female. I had to do something to balance it out. I hadn't done much consistent video gaming aside from Guitar Hero since I beat the Xenosaga games, so I decided to finally get my hands dirty with one of the most violent games ever, God of War.

Now, as much fun as video games are, they are still inherently distractions from me doing any writing. In a lot of ways, this blog is as well. That aside, I think I need to find some writing that has a masculine slant to balance out the most recent idea I've gotten. I am being slightly pulled by Ashes of War. It's been dormant for a bit, but not so long where I've forgotten about it. For all the work I plan to do, this still needs to be the first book I publish, if only to give readers a better idea of what to expect from me.

My thought is that as I write scenes depicting the growth and development of a predominantly lesbian world, with predominantly lesbian relationships, I will also write about a chaotic fantasy world where political power struggles result in assassins infiltrating castles and killing dignitaries just to silence them. As I write about love in one story, I can write about hate in the other. As I have covert, subtle conflicts in one story, I can shape overt, explosive conflicts in the other.

Concerning My Latest Idea...

It's been a week since that idea hit me in the back of the head until I was willing to listen. I've discussed it with not quite 10 people and I've made a few decisions about it as well.

--The main character's name is Bridgett. There will also be a terrorist called Adam John. And it would be in poor taste if I didn't mention Penelope (the girl Bridgett falls for) and Oriane (an investigator from the Office of Genetic Security.

--The story will consist of three narrative notes. The main story is my initial idea. The two subplots will be Oriane investigating a murder and the movements of Adam John.

--This idea, this story, if published as a book (and it'll probably be a book), could put my life in danger. This is not an exaggeration.

--I need to publish another book (Ashes of War, anyone?) before publishing this.

--Maybe this thing isn't written by "Len Berry," if you catch my drift.