the deep moans round with many voices

Here we are at the start of chapter 3, which will mostly deal with the meeting where Arthur and Dom explain some of the plot to Jean-Claude, Ariadne studies them to find an advantage, and Ariadne and Arthur flirt something awful. (1,725 words)

( Weregild, part 15 )

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I think the weirdest thing about "Weregild," for me as a writer, is having to describe what people are wearing. I don't usually do this. People get a brief description upon introduction and occasionally articles of particular plot or character relevance are mentioned, but I generally work on the assumption that if people are walking around in public, they are wearing reasonably appropriate clothes. Beyond that, I don't care.

But Inception, while not making a huge point of it, uses personal clothing styles as an integral aspect of characterization, and Laurell K. Hamilton often stops her narrative to describe people's outfits and Anita's assessment of them. (Anita may talk about being uninterested in fashion, but trust me, speaking as someone who really is uninterested in fashion: she is interested in fashion. This makes her disinterest in sewing and alteration even more baffling.) In the interests of mimicking canon, I am making an effort to talk about clothes, which means I have to think about clothes, which is like mental contortionism for me. Very strange.

Anyway, sorry for the delay on this part! There were three reasons. First, it has been too hot to think. Second, I have been doing background and outline work for my Narnia Fic Exchange story. Third, I did write about 2,000 words over the past few days, but they were for other, unfinished fics and/or original stories. I am still me, after all, and thus frequently scattered in my focus. :-(

This is still basically a giant infodump -- in other words, this is the "let me explain about Fisher, Lebrun, and Robert; some of Mal's backstory with Lebrun; what exactly Dom and Arthur are planning to do and why; and how and why Eames is involved in their mess" section, which is rather a lot to throw at you all at once, sorry! -- but now there is at least a bit more back-and-forth in the dialogue and some actual character stuff going on around the exposition. (2,200 words)

( Weregild, part 14 )

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And I think that wraps up chapter two, unless anyone has a burning need to see Eames talking with Sally and Robert? I think it would muck up the pacing and focus, but I could maybe be persuaded otherwise if someone makes a good case. (Or maybe not, but you can always try. *wry*) Anyway, chapter three will start with Ariadne fetching Arthur and Dom to meet with Jean-Claude. Yay Ariadne!

This chapter needs more editing than chapter one (though I do want to also go back and make sure chapter one hints more pointedly at the nature of Dom and Arthur's plan, now that I know more or less what it is), but I should have the final version up on AO3 by, say, Tuesday night. :-)

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And now, an experiment:



I don't think this will show up on LJ, since I don't have a paid account there, but I am testing out a kind of response poll I've seen a few other people do. Even if you don't have anything to say, please consider ticking a box or two to show you're reading!

Let's see if I can write the next part of "Weregild" before I get kicked out of Uris Library. I am starting at 3:15pm.

...And finished at 5:15pm! Arthur tells Dom and Eames about Ariadne's dreamwalking power and they discuss their options. (1,800 words)

( Weregild, part 13 )

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Next section: Eames tells Arthur and Dom about what's going on in San Francisco, thus hopefully letting me explain a bunch of the background situation and what, exactly, the three men are plotting to do. Then maybe one more section until chapter three. Yay progress!

I was going to jump to Eames after the previous section, but it occurred to me that he wouldn't be awake yet and I don't want to get the time progression confused. Besides, I essentially left Arthur in the middle of a scene rather than at a reasonable break point. So. Arthur POV again, still at Animators, Inc. (1,400 words)

( Weregild, part 11 )

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This time the next section will definitely be Eames. :-)

"Weregild" continues to be an odd story for me as a writer, because while I do have points X, Y, and Z in mind for the ending, and sketchy notions of points H, M, Q, and T that I need to hit en route, by and large I am winging this section by section. I am writing as much to find out what happens as to find the right way to convey what happens.

Also, I keep having to stop and do things like read San Francisco neighborhood revitalization websites, or muck around with highway maps of St. Louis, or research Missouri gun laws. To a certain extent, I can ignore reality because a world where vampires, shapeshifters, psychics, witches, and all kinds of other impossibilities have always existed is going to be somewhat different from ours in the fine details, but it's always best to know what I'm contradicting before I contradict it. (I don't always do what's best -- I am, fundamentally, a lazy person -- but I try to make gestures in that direction. *grin*)

This scene did not go quite the way I was expecting it to. On the other hand, I got a female character in, so I can't say I mind all that much. (2,025 words)

( Weregild, part 10 )

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You know something about Laurell Hamilton? I often get the feeling she has no idea what the actual layouts of any of her settings are. They are too vague and shift around too much. I would like to be able to make little faux architectural sketches of various buildings, but there simply is not enough detail to do so.

For example, in this section I have had to invent the office building in which Animators, Inc. is located. All Hamilton has ever said about it, to my knowledge, is a rough description of the reception room, focused more on color and scientific plant names than actual layout; that there are three offices, of which Bert has taken the smallest (painted pale blue, like an ice cube) as his own; that Mary (no last name) is the day secretary and Craig (no last name, no description either) is the night secretary; that there is a parking lot associated with the building; that the animators on staff all use the remaining two offices on a time-share basis; and that Anita sometimes keeps a gun in the drawer of her office desk.

She has also said, and I quote: There was a psychologist's office across from us, nothing less than a hundred an hour; a plastic surgeon down the hall; two lawyers; one marriage counselor, and a real estate company. (The last comma in place of a semi-colon is the book's error, not mine.)

By implication, the animators have keys to the office, since Anita has met people there at odd hours when no secretary seemed to be around -- and really, they would need at least three secretaries to have the office open 24/7. My suspicion is that Mary works 9am-5pm and Craig works 5pm-1am, give or take a little.

Anyway, that is mostly my frustration talking, but there are times I really wish Hamilton paid more attention to her world-building and less to the goddamn sex and romance. (Also, the number of times in the earlier books that I want to smack Anita and say either, "Listen, lady, have you heard of this concept called a threesome? Because people can be in true love with more than one person at a time, swear to god!" and/or, "Seriously, stake Jean-Claude; you're young; you'll get over him," are countless. Oy.)