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| Great Wolf Lodge. Wisconsin Dells, WI. |
Anyways, between the 15-year old, the 8-year old and the 2-year old, there were some very stressful moments. The teenager was definitely the best-behaved. She has matured a lot in recent months, and we loved being able to include her in this. She watched over the smaller ones when asked without complaint, and even volunteered to do so several times. Don't get me wrong, it's not that the other two were "bad" per se. They were just typical for their ages and personalities. The 8-year old is very needy at times, and always pines for attention. And if she's already at the center, she simply wants more. Usually, this isn't a big deal. But sometimes, it's a bit much. She has a tendency to overstep boundaries, and not know when she should just be quiet. Just like ALL 8-year olds. The 2-year old is "THAT" kid. You know, the one who screams and runs off anywhere in public? He's also deathly afraid of water. But I think he made some good strides in overcoming that this week. He is a charming little turd, and very cute. So, it makes it hard to come down on him at times. But he pushes the limits, making us often thank God he will be the last.
Still, the trip wasn't a waste by any stretch. We all enjoyed the water park, the food and just bonding as a family. But next year...well, we're already re-thinking the initial plans for next year.
(And now to turn this into a Writing discussion...and Scott thinks he's the only one with that super power!)
I also took my flash drive with me, in the hopes of snatching some keyboard time on my wife's laptop. Probably should have just left it at home. I had one small span where I could have done some writing, but I was exhausted and ended up napping with the 2-year old instead.
However, in lieu of writing with my fingers, I wrote in my head. Having finally finished the first draft of the Orc Space Pirates story, I started thinking about what comes next. Right now, I have two main projects. First is the book about Gorus the Gray. And it was this one that I thought about the most. In my brain, I was editing and revising the plot to make it more streamlined. This morning, having some open time at work, I ended up stripping an entire scene from the first chapter (almost 1,800 words), because it just slogged the story. That was hard to do. I thought the scene was well-written, and I put down some good dialogue. But it slowed things down too early in the story, and I need to get my protagonist on the road to adventure. So, I "cut and pasted" it into a new document entitled "Cut Bits" and moved on. I know I won't be using that bit in this story, as it detailed a turning point. But, I kept it, just in case I find another use for it later. I then proceeded to re-write the chapter from that point on. I like this version much better.
The other idea I thought about was the shared world my friends and I are working on. The idea is for each of us to write three stories, each story being about our own cast of characters, giving us a total of nine stories, and three separate story arcs, to contribute to an anthology for the eBook markets. One friend has finished his first story, is working on his second, and has already plotted out the third. I'm not sure where the other friend is at this point (like me, he has a lot of irons in his writing fire), but I'm sure he's chugging along (he writes a lot faster than I do). I, on the other hand, have one story done, have a seed for the second story, and a vague notion of where I want the entire arc to go. And nothing more. I should really put some more thought into that one.
So, how many other writers out there find it hard to write while on vacation?
1 comment:
I took my laptop with me on our vacation and I did do some work on an interview that I have scheduled. I didn't get a thing done on fiction though. And I just don't typically manage any fiction while on vacation.
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