Walking along the beach with K3 makes me feel like I’m in a certain Prodigy video. Everyone is reacting to him.
Generally since he’s all goofy smile all the time:
NB: he’s always too interested in the camera to catch him in full goof.
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Ed: this time with a title!
I’ve been in Cres for two weeks already! Man, fruit flies like a banana! I’ve managed to be mistaken for someone else twice, once for good, once for bad. A man came up to me on the beach to thank me wholeheartedly for the help I had given him the day before, and a couple of days ago a man berated me for being obnoxiously loud while he was trying to sleep. Such is the life of an archetype…
We’ve settled into a routine:
- 6am: K3 wakes up, I walk K3 around town, get a croissant and a macchiato
- 8am: Everyone else wakes up, we have breakfast, and go for caffich, as described in photos previously
- 10am: Sweet brings K3 home to take a nap, I take K1 and K2 to park or “spit of land beach” (K1’s term), depending on my mood, how close to 10 it actually is
- 11:45am: depends on above. Park = juice for boys and radler for me. beach = ice cream
- 12pm: Lunch. If we’ve been to the beach, K2 usually doesn’t want to eat, haven’t figured out why…
- 1pm: Quiet time. K2 and K3 and I nap, K1 and Sweet read
- 4pm: Dinner
- 5pm: K1 and K2 get on the Croatian Mamachari, whip down to the “big beach”, I take K3 in the stroller with all the auxiliary supplies. It takes me much longer to get there.
- 7:30pm: Kremsnitas/Ice Cream for all! Beer for me!
- 9pm: Baths and snackety snack
- 10pm: Bed for boys, reading/glass of wine/dishes/rinsing bathing suits/bed for adults
Wake up and do it all again!
Tomorrow we’ll be doing something different though, as we have booked passage on the Korsaro, a glass bottom boat dolled up as a pirate ship that does a day-long trip to a grotto on the other side of the island. should be fun, especially since all three kids are now comfortable with the water (IE don’t have screaming fits when we try and put them in).
Amazingly, we still have over two weeks remaining of our time in Cres, as we are aiming to get back to Zagreb on the 27th of July.
NB: I don’t have many pics to share as I didn’t bring a “SD to iPhone” adaptor and most pics are on my waterproof camera, as opposed to the phone, which I don’t bring with me most of the time due to fear of losing it. If you click the photo below, it’ll being you to our Cres set.
Croatian Mamachari.
Morning ritual.
Coffee and reading.
Search for ribices! (ribices=fishies)
A more in-depth post later, when coffee has had an effect.
I’m in Croatia, about to head for the coast. Internet access will be at the cafe while I’m getting my morning fix. I’ll check in when I can though!
In April I managed to go to Eurocon, the European Science Fiction Society’s annual convention. I’ve mentioned this before. While there I sat in an hour-long workshop given by Tim Powers (he’s an awesome storyteller, and really friendly to boot!). I took notes, but never posted them. Now I am. Enjoy! (N.B.: I’m tidying up the spacing and typos, but otherwise leaving it verbatim)
When you are figuring out character traits:
- Why this character? Why is his story important? Why, really?
- What would he do anything in the world to get?
- What would he do anything in the world to avoid?
- Make them face an intolerable choice
How to keep it interesting for you and your readers
- Deal with all the extra stuff in later drafts
- Use a calendar to keep track of events and use it to push yourself along
- Use the bits that affect & attract you, not what is current – it’ll affect readers if it affects you.
- When you are done: Throw away the first three pages. Start with the next full sentence
- It’s good to start with dialogue
- First page: make it an easy doorway to step through
- Within a page or two: day or night? Man or woman? Inside or outside? Ages?
- Make it look like it’s happening to real people in a real place.
Info-dumping : how to let the reader know what he needs to know?
- Make the description part of the action.
- A good way To describe something very complicated, have it be broken and need fixing.
- 10000 ft to one mm zoom in to give description, doesn’t feel like info-dump, camera moving all the time.
How to end: after the crucial decision: write the consequences, but then walk away for a day. And cut off the last three pages, or wherever it’s apt.
How much to trust beta readers: mechanical suggestions. Don’t listen to revision suggestions. Don’t give it to writers.
There you go. Helpful hints at the very least! I hope the four (five?) of you find it useful!