A '1 a.m. on the night before the trip' post

Here is a list of numbers and fruits: 

7
Avocado
40
Apple
Blackberry
37
29
4
Cherry
56
Grape
72
9
Pear
Plum
203
44
Strawberry

WriYe Part Two: Rhythm

Poetry has an obvious rhythm, but so does prose. Writing can be as musical as, well, music writing. What type of cadence do you find in your own writing? Are you short and choppy? Long and lyrical? And why is your way better than anyone else?

I put off writing this post because honestly, I don't have a lot to say on this subject. The natural rhythm of speech changes based on the situation and so should your writing. If not, it sounds like you're not just talking but like you're trying to 'be a writer'. 'Writerese' is a second language no one needs.

Typically, though, my writing tends to be on the more lyrical side. I talk a lot.

Still, I tend to edit as I go and that keeps the overall sentence length down a bit. Every now and then you'll see some very choppy sentences but those are usually in action scenes or horror scenes or something similar. They break up the flow. And it isn't just the overall flow of the sentence either. It's the individual words as well.

If you try to cram too many long words into a sentence, it loses its flow and you're left skipping words or dragging yourself through them just looking for the end. Obviously, this isn't good for a book, this isn't good for the reader and I can't say it'll do too much for your credibility as a writer, either.

Different stories need different things. I can't say that my way is so much better because 'my way' changes, sometimes from chapter to chapter, depending on the tone I need to set. I have several short stories that need a longer (and older) style. They don't work with a shorter, more modern style. It would lose some of the slightly alien charm otherwise.

The bottom line with rhythm is: find yours. Find the correct speed for the scene and stick with it. If you deviate too much, you'll just wind up having to fix it in editing.

Not much of a post but brevity is the soul of wit and all of that. Play with styles and speeds until you find what works for the piece. You'll know if something isn't flowing right.

Quick updates

I'm sorry I haven't been on much lately. I haven't been feeling the best for a verity of reasons but that's beside the point.

Okay - Issue One: Progress Meters

You might have noticed that they've changed. That's because, for some reason, I can't get to the site I got my old ones from - it just gives me the 404 error. So. I opted for the skinny, sleek ones from this place.

So that means new code:

Blue - shows
Red - editing
Green - reading
Black - totals
Purple - scripts
Cyan - first drafts
Pink - challenges

Enjoy.


Issue Two - Moving. Soon.

...

That's it. That's the issue. Moving. Soon.

My room looks like a hoarder exploded.


Issue Three - Theme

Thinking of changing this one. Have no idea what I'd like to have instead. I'm kind of cyberpunk in a lot of ways but nothing I've found really fits and I'm not good enough with coding to make something (yet). Sigh.


In other news, I'll try to get the February post up before the trip. I've been stalling on that one since I really don't have a lot to say that's on topic. Oh, well. Nothing wrong with a short post, right?

I think I'll curl up and be quiet for a while now. There's just a lot of stress hanging around.

Anyway, I'm not dead! If anyone knows of any non-cluttered/non-blocky cyberpunk/cybergoth themes, please let me know. And I will see you all later on ^^