I make it because I know I’ll have to destroy it

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Sundays aren’t the expansive, relaxing work days that Saturdays or Tuesdays are. I have a definite time when I have to be finished with my daily goal and back at home so my wife can go to work. It’s enough time to do what I need to do (considering my process) but I need to get up on time and really focus.

And today, I found myself thinking Why am I writing this scene? I’m just going to have to cut it in revisions.

It’s a scene where the protagonist wakes alone in a strange place. He thinks he’s been taken by enemies, but it’s really just his reckless asshole compatriots. He’s also been terribly injured, so he’s terrified and desperate. As I described everything he did, I kept thinking Nothing comes of this. It’s all setup and no payoff.

On the other hand, it’s what the character would do.

So I wrote it all out, thinking that maybe I was cheating on my daily goal, but knowing that it’s better to follow the character than try to lead them. And who knows? I may find a better payoff for it later.

Huh.

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Lee Child has a fiction excerpt on the NY Times editorial page. It’s pretty good, too. I read Child’s debut novel and found it interesting but curiously airless–everything that happens turns out to be related to the overall plot, and the coincidence that kicks off the story strains even my credulity. But this was fun. I may have to give him another try.

One thing I never read, though, is those LiveJournal posts that are just collections of Twitter posts. If I wanted to read tweets… well, the rest is obvious.

Normally I don’t mention posts I skim over, but the clutter is getting to be a bit much.