Der Feuervogel aufersteht.

+809, 91,134.

I had an idea for how to make the scene I wasn't sure about including more interesting, so I went with that, then I got about 3/4 of the way through the following scene, which leaves me with just over one scene to edit. I'll probably end up expanding on the second scene I worked on today, because it isn't really finished. It just sort of stops.

After I get through the edits, I'm going to read it to make sure it's all there, then figure out how the compile function works in the new version of Scrivener and send it out to the kind people who've volunteered to be betas. (And while it's out, I guess I can work on the dreaded synopsis...)

But for the moment, my wrist hurts a little, so I'm going to stop typing. I think I need to adjust my desk some.

+143, 90,072. 3-4 scenes left.

Wow, I should be able to finish this next week. Woot?

FOUR scenes edited today, +534, 89,337, 16 days left. There remain 6 or 7 scenes to revise, some of which need more work than others.

No one will understand this part, though, and that could be a problem.

Blackwell’s forehead creased. “Breach of contract is serious, as I’m sure you know.” His lips curled slightly. “I’m at a disadvantage. I don’t know which company has bested mine.”

“Das weißt du doch.”

The smug smile vanished at her insult. “You’re quite right. I do know who you are, Miss Hessian Security.”

I don't want to spend exposition on du vs sie, though I've already mentioned earlier on (repeatedly) that the native language of Hikaru and co is German, and said once that their security company is the only one that uses German. Non-German-speakers, what do you think?

I suppose I could say "her insulting use of the familiar/informal? 'you'" or something to that effect. In the past, I've indicated what language people are speaking by dialogue tags (s/he said in English/German/Turkish/Farsi, yes all of those), but this ... is different, obviously, and doesn't work in English. Argh.

+271, 88,478, 18 days left, 13 scenes left. I may decide to make one scene the narrative summary it already is, or I may expand it as I'm planning to. I don't know. We'll see how I feel when I get there.

When I hit 90k, I'll add another thousand words to my project goal to give me motivation. The little bar filling up as I revise makes me happy.

+138, 88,018, 22 days left, 14 scenes left.

There hasn't been a day yet this week (other than Monday) that I haven't had to go out for something: pilates, PT, the vet. That makes it harder for me to get started writing earlier in the day, so I haven't been getting started until 2:30 or 3. Which means I only get through one scene. Next week, except for pilates Tuesday and PT Friday, should have fewer interruptions.

Fingers crossed, anyway.

+319, 87,679, 24 days left.

Hikaru's the reason I started drinking scotch. She does, and I want to have enough knowledge to talk about it if I have to. (Which I haven't yet. But it could be relevant, maybe, later.)

+209, 87,142, 26 days left. Hikaru has 18 scenes left. I should probably start doing 2 a day because I may have days when I don't have time to write (like Wednesday, when I have PT in the morning and tai chi in the evening).

If I add 200 words per scene, I'll add 3600 words, which will put me past 90,000 total. Sweet.

+217, 86,667, 29 days left.

After feedback at my writing group, I added even more description in one of the scenes from earlier this week then moved on to the next scene. I found some continuity issues (resulting from a change I made before starting this draft) which I'll address tomorrow. I'm only about halfway through the second scene.

+220, 86,244, 31 days left. The little tool in Scrivener says I have to write 128 words a day to hit 90k by 1 July. Tomorrow it'll say 125 words/day.

I was worried when I started this scene that I'd end up with a low net word count for the day, because I found a lot of clunky descriptions and the like, but I seem to have managed.

Also, it's 96 degrees/36 Celsius outside. It'll be the same tomorrow, but at least there's a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon.

Saturday! I got work done! Unheard of.

+215, 85,727, 34 days left, and I've finished revising Azar's scenes.

Now I'm going to watch the UEFA Champions League final in glorious HD on my TV, because it's showing regular old FOX. I don't like either team (Manchester United vs Barcelona), so I'm just hoping for some good football.

+202, 85,296, 36 days left.

Azar has two scenes left. Since I'll be home alone this weekend, I may get around to some more work, or not. We'll see.

Time to find a place where I can try my physical therapy homework. I need a wall and a crate.

+221, 84,933, 38 days left.

Getting close to the end of Azar's scenes. I did 2.5 today, though I'll probably go back tomorrow and edit the last two I worked on.

Seriously, next time I'm starting with an outline, rather than having my rough draft act as an outline. This is inefficient and ridiculous.

An emotionally-draining +230 today, for a total of 84.351 words with 42 days left.

Azar woke grasping at the sheets. Ayman had begged her to save him as Stevenson fired a bolt of plasma into his head, and all she could do was watch. Her heart pounded in her chest, and tears wet her pillow. Every fear she’d pushed aside since Ayman had been arrested crashed through the walls she’d built to hold them back.

Yeah, that's just the beginning of the scene. It doesn't continue quite like that; it's about Azar going to the meeting point for her guerrilla squad and coming to terms with her fear. It's kind of hard to get into that space and stay there, you know? Dredging up old nightmares and terrors and writing about them.

Today: +157, 83,795, 45 days left.

A snippet (and the end of a chapter):
That didn’t answer who the people who said they were judo students and teachers really were. There were other companies than the Sons of Mars, but Azar hardly knew anything about them beyond their names. The Hessians came from CEF space, she thought. Sahar had talked about them when Azar was a child, said they were the most honest mercenary company in the galaxy, but still mercenaries.

They were people whose loyalty could be bought and sold for the right price. And they were Seven’s best hope for freedom.

Doctor stuff:

Got renewals on my prescriptions for my thyroid meds, and we're trying 4x5 mg of T3 a day instead of alternating half and whole tablets. Got a prescription for physical therapy (2x/wk for 6-8 wks) for my low back and hip pain and the extreme laxity in my right ankle (I can almost touch it to the floor thanks to a nasty sprain when I was 13 without any follow-up afterwards, just "here's an ace bandage and some crutches, stay off it for a few days." We had no insurance. My doctor's eyes went a little wide when she tested it in the office.)

Since my PT copay is going to be $30, I may be dropping my Pilates class for a bit. As much as I enjoy it, $90/wk (for PT, Pilates, and tai chi) is fucking expensive for an unemployed person on her husband's income. Though there's a deal for $50 off the one-month unlimited pass (usually $150), which works out to 7 classes to be worth it, or two a week. I was thinking of getting it for June (since I'm going out of town for a week in July), but August may be better, depending on when I get into the PT clinic. I'll be calling them in the morning. Duke Sports Medicine has two locations, and I think the one NOT at Southpoint is going to be better (it's on 751 near Duke Hospital, but with actual parking).

Looks like I'm going to start being vaguely busy in the near future, yuck. That means much less faffing about on twitter and Farmville so I can get in PT, tai chi, and novel edits in the same amount of time.

The scene I was talking about yesterday? I ended up dropping it (for now). I couldn't figure out how to make it relevant or not repetitive. I worked a few of the details into a different scene, and the original second half of it is still floating around for later.

So I moved on to the next scene, expanded on it a little bit, and got +174 words for a total of 83.278. I actually wrote close to 350 words, because the part I cut was ~180. So, cool.

Tomorrow I'm off to Atlanta for Outlantacon/Gaylaxicon. I'll be carpooling with skogkatt, who's on her way from Boston and is a bit delayed thanks to construction traffic around DC. Hopefully she'll miss rush hour in Richmond.

I'm telling you, the East Coast Megalopolis is a terrible thing to drive through, and we should have good high-speed trains.

Now I need to run the vacuum quick to get up the cat litter. I already had to clean up some marking from Isis (on the floor Ben MOPPED yesterday, damned cat), and I should sweep up the spilled litter in the bathroom.