Modular Attack of Epic Proportions

I struggle. If only I could turn that into a modular story. I've spent most of today grading (I've only got seven to go, I think) or in grading workshops. When I got home, I took a nap. I've been napping a lot more of late. I find that I work better after a nap. Of course, if I've gotten a full night's sleep (it happens occasionally), and I still need that nap, then my days are more draining than they have a right to be. But I do nap, nearly every day, even if it's by accident.

I'm out of melon and bell pepper. Lots of carrots, several tomatoes. No more mushrooms. More green beans than I could count without getting tired of counting. I want cantaloupe. I'll buy some maybe. It'll be a reward for writing this story in time.


My "just got home time" with Charlotte has lately consisted of lap time followed by a reclining nap. I lie on my side, she perches on my hip or knee. It works. For about half an hour we sleep like that, and then she starts playing with my toes and I wake up and get to work. What would I do without her? Probably nap for hours and get nothing done. *shrug*

In any case, this modular story is putt-putting along at an alarmingly slow rate. I've got to find four-ish solid narrative threads to follow, and I've found one definite one and a little half scene that could blossom. My core is not so central, and takes a lot (LOT) of suspension of disbelief to work. In short, it is no core at all. Maybe it could be a thread, but then I'd have to somehow tie them all together. With the core as is, I at least have a tie.

Here's the semi-premise. There's a woman (not so nice) named Cindy (or sommat) and the story focuses on different views of her offered by different people. I've got her mother as one thread, and her boyfriend's daughter as another. The semi-core deals with some guy traveling around digging into the woman's life, trying to find out more about her. Kind of like a background check, only not formal. Maybe he's an ex-boyfriend who's stalking her, or something. I don't know. Therein lies the problem. If the core is the ex-boyfriend, then there should be some thread that isn't about Cindy, but about the guy. If the core is Cindy, then the stalker can be a thread, but I need a better way to connect them all. The threads should connect through the core, and I can't imagine the mother and boyfriend's daughter connecting through much of anything other than a guy knocking at the door to ask questions. Unless they're all in therapy or something. And even then, there's no reason for all these people to end up in therapy together. The world isn't that small, even in fiction. So.

There you have it. My day, in a nutshell. All the pictures are taken, but need developing. I did constructive stuff at school, and ate pizza. The pizza, by the way, was very good. I graded. I blogged. I thought long and hard about a story I wanted to finish tonight, but I came up with scraps.

I'll be writing the scraps down, since in a modular story, it all comes in disparate scenes anyway(s). Maybe the rest of the threads will be magnetically drawn to the threads I write, and they will bond with each other, forming a core on their own. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

Another note, since I can't resist at this time.

FLAME ON:

"Anyways" is WRONG, people. It has no "s" at the end. It is "anyway." No "s". It's a word describing a singular sort of thing. Think of it as two words, in fact. Any way. You wouldn't say "anyways you look at it", would you? Please tell me you wouldn't. Please? It's supposed to be "anyway". No "s". I write it "anyway(s)" not to imply that there could be an "s", but to make fun of people who tack the "s" on the end. It's a gentle mockery, so don't take offence, unless you really want to. Just one of my pet peeves, along with "as best as s/he could". Boy, that one really pisses me off. It's apparently the most common usage and has been accepted by computer dictionaries everywhere. What's so wrong with "as well as s/he could" or "to the best of her/his ability"? Hmm? Hell, even "the best s/he could" is better than that *other* phrase. Sometimes, I really hate this language.

FLAME OFF.

But there you have it. A small rant to conclude a previously gentle entry. Hope you enjoyed.

End.