Manuscript 7 – Not Even a Working Title
If you are paying attention to the posts, you will notice the time between the previous post and this post are within an hour. That’s because I had two topics to discuss! You’ll also notice… that this is the announcement of my newest project – the seventh manuscript. Now many would say, “Finish Bohr’s Bathos, then start a new project!” Well, I don’t work that way. When I finish a manuscript, I will read through it twice while performing edits, then I will print it, and put it in a filing cabinet. During those two editing sessions, I will begin the process of outlining my newest project. Once done with the edits, I will begin writing the new project. After some time has passed, I will open the cabinet and do a read through of an older manuscript (not the most recent, which is Bohr’s Bathos in this case). Then, I will put that one away and keep working on the newest manuscript. At sometime, I will open the cabinet and begin a detailed revision of the most recently completed manuscript (in this case Bohr’s Bathos). I do this so I get away from that piece. I let my mind forget what I had written, where I had lived, and try to read it as someone who knows nothing about the work. Then it goes away again while I work on the newest manuscript.
Man am I excited! I came up with this manuscript’s base world and main characters about two months ago. I wrote the kernel down, fleshed out the idea a little, and over time fantasized myself alongside the characters. Each time I went there, I learned more and studied the people I would be writing about. I twisted their souls and minds. They reacted and I jotted down the different responses. Soon, I discovered who would be my main character. I tinkered with the structure in the shower and ran out naked and dripping wet to write down what I concluded. The hazy began to form into objects and I knew it was close. But, I don’t start a new project till the previous one is done, and so I kept moving forward on Bohr’s Bathos. Now, with that manuscript completed, I get to go back to that world, pour over the notes, think of new pathways, develop the major outline, and build the supporting cast. It will be a fun month!
Read MoreBohr’s Bathos – First Draft Completed
In the last two weeks, I’ve had zero time to write as I’ve been working on different projects/obligations. Knowing that there was a predestine slump, I had pushed hard on myself to complete Bohr’s Bathos before I was drawn into life. I did well, but I didn’t finish the manuscript in time to avoid the two week hiatus. I ended up with the final three chapters staring at me as I moved in and out of my office. Just sitting there, on my desk, was my notebook with the completed outlines staring at me and begging to be turned into words on a page. So today, after a long week of work, I made a pot of tea, drank a coffee, and cranked away. As always when finishing a manuscript, I slowed as each period took me closer to completing this project. Each sentence leading me to an ending that I didn’t want to happen – not the real ending in the piece but the end of writing this manuscript. It will have revisions, edits, and maybe some additions, but I know the story is complete.
So the first draft comes in at a whopping: 106,724 words. My second longest manuscript (though not even close to my longest – off by about 20,000 words).
Read MoreAccepting Corrections
An ambiguous post (When You Cannot Take the Road Less Traveled) led to someone contacting me and criticizing my heavy handed writing on the topic of STEM. I am always open to someone contacting me, especially, when they think that I’ve crossed a line. To be fair, the person didn’t think that I had crossed a line, but thought, I had misrepresented a group of people who truly enjoy STEM and working in those fields. They thought I had been condescending and didn’t represent the people who had chosen that pathway, because they wanted to go into a STEM field. Rereading that post, I agree with them.
Originally, I had wanted to argue that the emphasis and incentives surrounding a STEM education could lead people who didn’t want to be in that field to that line of work. I wanted to portray the fact that STEM’s monetary incentives could lead someone to making a choice against what they actually wanted to do. Yes, I agree that underrepresented individuals deserve opportunities to pursue high paying careers in STEM. But by making STEM programs cheaper, better funded, and more prevalent than other programs, we as a society are choking off culture and humanities.
However, I sometimes feel that many people make the choice to go into STEM not because they want to, but because, it is lucrative and well funded. They throw their dreams to the wayside because a pathway to a career has opened up to them and the uncertainty that surrounds their life is solved by these incentive programs. So, I don’t dislike STEM, I dislike incentive programs because I feel they pray on individuals who want stability in their life or a cheaper degree.
In the end, that post doesn’t portray my feelings properly and it is hard for me to write about the topic as I am conflicted. The take away here is this: If you have a disagreement with what I’ve said or posted, contact me, I am more than willing to speak with you in a civilized discourse and will take your words to heart.
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