Thirty-Two Days in a Month

Actually Finishing Something July
Did you reach your goal?

Not strictly speaking, but not through lack of trying, I think.  This scene has proved to be a kind of watershed and, perforce, very difficult to plot.  I have been inching my way along by 500 words.  I did finish, but I finished today, August 1st.  Close, but no cigar.

If you didn't complete your goal, were you able to make a good amount of progress in your project?

"A good amount of progress" is a relative term.  Also, while I have sat down dutifully and written 500 words before getting back up, and have therefore got my way through this scene, I feel as if I have made little progress in the plot.  Puts one down, you know.  Perhaps I will find someone who is not paying attention to me and I will read it aloud, and that person will say, "Mmhmm, Jenny, quite good."  And I will go away heightened in spirit and write something fantastic.

Did you maintain a writing schedule?  How often did you write to meet your goal?

Half of my time was spent brain-storming (or flogging - felt more like beating my brain-pan than anything else), and the other half was spent in actual writing.  Can't write if you haven't got words.  Hadn't got words.  Piffle.  But when I did sit down to write, I forced myself to push ahead by 500 more words, and often I was able to push ahead a little farther than that.

List some of the musical tracks and artists you listened to most frequently this July.  Tell us why they inspired you and how they fit with your story.

I listened almost exclusively to Loreena McKennitt's performance at the Alhambra, which is one and a half hours long, so I can put it on and let it go without having to poke Youtube every three minutes.  Most distracting.  I particularly like this video because, while Gingerune is not at all Celtic, her music often bears an Eastern flare which is excellent for the mood.  Very few of the songs in this performance have anything remotely to do with Gingerune, but I like them, and playing music that I like sets me in a good frame of mind to feel any equanimity toward the whole writing business.  My favourites are "The Bonny Swans," "The Stolen Child," and "Bonny Portmore."  Of course, I can sing very little of any of them.

Snippets!  Share as many or as little as you choose.

"Egyptian princes,” he added with a delicate upward kick to his lip, “do not countenance shabby driving. Perhaps—” He, too, stopped at his perhaps, but in a moment he chose to go on. “Perhaps later, when you are feeling better, I can take you out for a real drive. You would like it. There is nothing to compare.”gingerune
The Earth-Master appeared only slightly mollified to find he was not, after all, to be used as a target for blame.gingerune
Everyone began looking at Ginger and Ginger, responding as she always did to such attacks, felt her blood drain from her face and her lips part a little from her bared teeth. gingerune
—then the soldier was on top of the archer, his movements made heavy by pain. Ginger pulled Roxane aside, falling back as the soldier grabbed the archer by the ears and slammed his head into the marble flags. Athanassoulis hung on for two more crashing blows and then his body fell open, the bow cascading out of his grasp and the sheaf of arrows clattering across the floor.gingerune
Pick a character from your July writing project and describe his or her daily wardrobe. Imagine how this character would dress is he or she were living in the year 2013.


Gingerune by jenpenslayer featuring bracelet charms
We'll do Ginger, since Ginger is my main character.  She wears (for her culture) very simple clothing: belled skirt (which would be pleated if she had the opportunity to iron it), fitted bodice and three-quarter-length sleeves, all in white and without embellishment; she owns no shoes.  In today's fashion, I've fitted her out with a salmon-coloured maxi dress (she can get away with maxi dresses: she's tall), a plain pair of gladiator sandals with heels, heavy bracelets, and some sharp turquoise jewellery to set off her freckles and violent red hair.

Bonus Question (skip if so desired - I shan't be offended)! What was your favorite part of Actually Finishing Something [in] July? What could be done next year to improve the challenge?

 I was very glad for the motivation which this challenge lent to my writing, especially since the scene I just finished was such a finicky one. 

thanks, Katiebug!