Thursday, October 21, 2004

Backfill struggles

The flashback sequences have proven to be much more uncooperative than I anticipated. Simply put, they're tending to spiral out of control. The way this story is structured, each episode needs to be short and punchy, conveying just enough information to suggest cause and effect before the next episode kicks in. But the flashbacks are providing the context and backstory for the parallel "real time" events in Prince Koindrindra Escapes, so I'm having to shoehorn not only the backstory into those passages, but also the details and circumstances that give each flashback context--I don't have the luxury of an additional flashback layer to accomplish that with. Coupled with my natural tendancy to write long--boy, can I write long--the flashbacks are growing like kudzu. Wild. Unruly. Not serving the story particularly well. I seem to be spending more time slashing and burning than actual writing. I anticipate the initial draft being finished sometime over the next few days, but a heavy rewrite and all-around pruning will be in order afterwards. But that doesn't mean I'm not making progress:
Koindrindra tried to slip the pry bar through the shackle of the brass padlock. The tip missed with a clank, sending the lock swinging.

He glanced over to the lovers. Dick was now grunting louder than Sweetheart. And she was pretty damn loud.

Gritting his teeth, he tried again. This time the bar caught. With a ferocious heave, Koindrindra twisted the bar, snapping the shackle from the casing with a loud crack.

Things don't go well for Dick and Sweetheart after this, but I guess you kinda figured that, eh?

Now Playing: Tom Petty Wildflowers

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