I can't believe that I have been locked out of my own Blogspot blogs for so long now. But that's what happens when you have two Google email accounts and use an assortment of passwords. I have about 10 that I use here and there, and trying all the combinations took some time. I cracked the code today and almost jumped up and down! The good news, I don't think ANYone can hack into my blogs. My password turned out to be pretty elaborate.
Anyway, as this is my writin' blog, I might as well post an update:
To date, I have written 230 pages and I am on Chapter 15. The plot finally feels right, and action is moving along. I still worry I drag things out too much, but honestly the important thing right now is to JUST WRITE. Edit it later.
This story has to come out. There's no doubt about that! It's been percolating for so damn long I have no option but to purge it now. I have another book idea that's excellent and I want to make room in my brain for the attention that story requires. I don't want to half-ass it. I thought about writing two books at a time, but decided against it over the past month.
Some interesting things about "Zachary":
* I figured out why the Coalition would be doing this particular research in the first place: to develop a cure for diabetes. It's kind of complicated, but while reading up on dolphins and their immune systems, I stumbled upon an interesting fact: their bodies can 'create' a diabetic state while diving to keep metabolism going at certain depths, etc. And then, they can turn it off again and return to a 'normal' state. It's way more intricate than that, of course, but it did spark a moment of BRILLIANCE! Hee hee. Suddenly it made some sense. And, it led to me figuring out what Paul Spencer wants with Zachary.
* Zoe's in the story now, in a big way. In fact, she's changing all the time. I have written some wonderful new scenes between Zachary and Zoe (they hunt together; they fight--and I do mean FIGHT; they kiss, etc...) and she's becoming a fleshed out character the way she was always meant to. She's still a little unhinged, but she is more relatable now. I didn't want her to be The Crazy One. She plays an important role now, a role more nuanced and interesting than I'd ever envisioned. It's so cool seeing where this goes! I never know what I will end up writing when I sit down to do it.
* I'm not so sure about Clara anymore. And if and when she might appear. I'll just have to get there and see what happens.
* I found a picture that represents pretty well what I picture when I write about Dingo! So cute:
Regarding influences, here's some stuff that sparked my interest in relation to this book:
* Kyle XY. I watched the two seasons of this on Netflix in the space of a couple of weeks. I LOVED it! Honestly, I had no idea how good this show was when I ignored it years ago, when it was on TV. But it was great. It's a crime that it was cancelled in the middle of a freakin' season, but that aside, I found a lot of similarities to that story and "Zachary." I liked how that show approached some of the same issues I have been working on for "Zachary", and admired the creativity. The character of Jessie XX really charged me up! She had a lot of Zoe characteristics and I had such a great time watching that show and thinking-thinking-thinking about my own character. It was excellent, and it spurred a huge burst of new writing.
* "Lucy." This is a book by Laurence Gonzales, and when I read the review of it one morning last year, I almost choked on my cereal. Lucy is a hybrid. half-human, half-chimp. She looks mostly human. There's a whole plot of her trying to find where she fits in, realize what she is, and escape from people who want to hurt her. I bought the book the day it was released and read it over the course of three days. Happily, my book is different enough that I'm no longer paranoid that someone would think I was ripping-off "Lucy." That's my biggest fear: that someone thinks I only got the idea for "Zachary" after reading or watching something that's similar in theme, tone or plot. I learned a lesson, in all of my anxiety and panic: My story is and always will be MY STORY. I know what I am trying to say, and I can't be affected by other works that come out. I need to be confident in my own vision, voice and creativity, and forget about the other authors' stuff. No one can tell my story the unique way I will tell it, and that's the beginning and the end of that!
So, it has been an interesting year+. I hope that I can post some more updates again and get back to documenting my progress. Even though this blog is just for myself, and my own record-keeping regarding my writing, I do hope that anyone reading this can be helped by some of my inner experiences and all of this crap.
And that you won't steal my ideas! I will hunt ya down and kill ya dead if you do.
Kidding!
Kinda.
OK, not at all. Do not steal, period.
That's all for now! Back to work.
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