Anbar August - The Factory, The Bastion, Something something

Gears is going well. Very well, actually. I forgot how much I enjoyed straight discovery writing. EC was discovery writing dialogue and a few other things, but in general scenes were meticulously planned because everything was so tightly woven. While I "discovery wrote" lots of the connections, by the end I had to make sure everything I said was correct and fell in line, or else stuff would get messy. Also, having about 300k of words I had to be in line with when writing that last part made it rather difficult.

Gears I have Steelgods to follow, but that book is so short I know it like the back of my hand. Also Gears happens a year after Steelgods, so I have some wiggle room in world and character changes during that time.

But mostly I just enjoy going into a scene knowing only how it needs to end, and then I let the characters do their thing. The spontaneousness of discovery writing is something I like best about it; I feel it gives my characters life beyond simply being elements to move a plot. It also makes for some hi-larious character conversations.

So Gears is going well, doing about 2-3k a day at a leisurely pace, and can usually write that much in about an hour a day. I'll probably pick it up soon, maybe try and write two chapters a day (I'm excited with the prospect of writing this whole book in two weeks rather than a month, even if that will require some dedication), but we'll see. WorldCON is coming up, and I plan on writing there as well, should I find the time.

In other news, GOOD WRITING MUSIC ALERT. Bastion is an Xbox Live Arcade game that is beautiful and completely fantastic. I just beat it yesterday and I loved it. But besides it just being a great game, it also has an incredible soundtrack. It's available for $10, or you can just listen to it all free. Highlighted tracks for me include A Proper Story, In Case of Troubles, and Spike in a Rail. Makes me want to write a western.

Listen to it here.

That's it from me. Here's a bitty quote from Gears.

 "...Now it was my turn to speak with excitement.

“And me? I’m put in the Factory [the Gears University], yes? With the regular students, because of how exceptional I am?”

Divine opened his mouth, then paused. I saw a flush of color run across his face, and for the first time the eloquent Spoke stuttered with his words. “I…well, the Factory is a place for all students. All Gears are required to attend, be they exemplary or…”

            “What your friend Divine is trying to say is everybody knows you are a moron,” Devent grinned. 


- Gears of Anbar