The Map of the Land

Salutations,

I am in the zone. No, no, make that Zone. Capital 'Z'. Typing like a stock car racer behind the wheel of the Grand Prix. I am afraid I might blow out the engine with the amount that I'm laying down and render my work unpublishable due to sheer size. But because I'm afraid I think I'm training myself while I'm writing to be more efficient in coming to the point. It is really easier when writing more frequently. After all, the story flows better in my head and I actually remember what has gone before so I can time the action better with the dialogue, or skip descriptions and get to the point of the plot.

I also use my tools better to help me get to the core of what I am writing. Kind of like having a full-Internet friendly GPS with tour guide tips while keeping your eyes to the road. The actual Internet with Wikipedia and Etymology Online  helps me get a better understanding about the broad scale of mythology I am tapping into. Online translators and Google Maps/Images help me visualize places and scale travel routes realistically, while staying linguistically correct. Picasa and 123RF allow me to search through databases of my own and commercially available stock images so I always can get the right mood for a scene or place, or even just to look up my own drawn images. Paint Shop Pro allows me quick access to drawing tools, so I can create maps that allow overviews of cities and countries the characters move through. There are several programs I use to keep track of plot, characters, objects, motivations and concepts, but the final word is on my 'Wall of Scofield' where everything is linked together. And while I write I listen to my collection of soundtracks in iTunes.

It's primarily all digital, these tools that help me do my work, and I do like my physical hands on approach (the Wall, printing out research, drawings and books). It's like mistrusting fully electronic cars, because if the battery gives out you are locked inside. I like to navigate my way through the land of mythology and adventure (that's what the series is about) with that GPS and just stopping every once in a while to spread a paper map across the hot hood. The Muses can do some suntanning, while I ponder where the road will take me. I just grab a notepad and pencil, sit outside in our shady porch and write a scene that doesn't need on the job researching, translating or inspiration. Just me and the elements, with maybe a few singing birds in the background. But that is not for now. Even though the Internet is up and fast again - I am revelling in the sheer force that is propelling me through the remaining chapters. I may have feared yesterday that I'll produce an overblown glorified paperweight (ironically made out of paper), but days like these I feel like...gasp..Stephen King?

(Did I mention already I have no IT work going on right now? Better yet: do I miss it?)