word count

[julesjones]

I've been thrashing away at Spindrift for most of the day. Just stopped for afternoon tea, and checked the word count. It's just passed 30,000 words total, and 2000 words for the day so far. Some of that's probably going to be chopped during the second pass, but at least words are happening now. It says something about how hard it was to get going on Spindrift that I have had to repress the urge to work on the current submission package for The Trashy Porn Novel That Grew, an activity that is normally the cause rather than the means of cat-vacuuming.

Comments

The Trashy Porn Novel that Grew?

[technosage.livejournal.com]

And just where would you be submitting this? :-) And, erm, what the heck is cat-vacuuming?

Re: The Trashy Porn Novel that Grew?

[julesjones]

It's going to Tor next.:-) It's really more political sf than paranormal romance, so it's going to PNH's slushpile, not Anna Genoese's.

It's known to rec.arts.sf.composition as The Trashy Porn Novel That Grew, because when I started writing it I thought I was writing a trashy porn novel. It was a very nasty idea from a fever dream that had been lurking at the back of my mind for three years before pouncing on me and demanding that I write it *now*. So I thought I'd write it and get it out of the way. Turned out it had been *fermenting* during those three years. It's weirder and harsher and much, much more blatantly political sf than Mindscan... I tossed it at an agent in the UK who said it was good writing but he couldn't sell it, could I please send him my next one. :-)

From the rasfc FAQ:
Cat-vacuuming: An activity that pretends to be useful, but is actually
being done so that you can avoid writing.


The derivation is that when you're trying to avoid writing, all sorts of normally unwanted tasks suddenly become very appealing. It becomes vitally important to finish the housework. So you tidy the lounge, and then you vacuum it, and you think that the furniture is ever so covered in cat hairs, so you'd better vacuum that, and hey, we could save a step here and vacuum the cat itself, and get rid of all that loose fur that's come loose but hasn't been shed yet. And this will save time in the long run, becaus eit means you won't need to vacuum *that* cat hair off the carpet and furniture tomorrow, because you've already vacuumed it off the cat. So it's *useful* work, becuase it means you'll have more time to write tomorrow...

We now have a badge. See my current icon. :-) If you google groups for cat-vacuuming, one of the threads that turns up is me ranting about a trashy porn novel taking over my brain.

Re: The Trashy Porn Novel that Grew?

[technosage.livejournal.com]

Well! Good luck with the TPNG. I'll be waiting to hear more about it.

And... who knew? :-)