[writing log] August 2024

Setting the suspension of disbelief, asking the initial narrative question, and creating the working outline of H4H.

Although I’ve kept a writing log for a long time, I’ve chosen to start in August 2024 because that’s when I started writing H4H.

Although this log is only a little over a week, it’s still very many words. September is exponentially longer, so I may break it up into a couple posts.

To get some context on H4H and the world of the Undercallers, you can read the first chapter in my previous post:

[WIP] Heavy for Hire, Chapter 1

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I went ahead and pulled out the craft concepts I use in the log and I’ve provided definitions. If no definition is provided, that means the concept is explained in that day’s log. The concepts are bolded when they appear.

Craft concept index:

• suspension of disbelief — 08/25 — When a reader encounters an implausible or unrealistic element in fiction and just goes with it. For example, when Alice encounters the White Rabbit with a pocket watch and waistcoat and saying “I’m late!” we the reader just nod our heads and go “no yeah I vibe.”

• initial narrative question — 08/25

• up draft — 08/27 — From Anne Lamott’s essay “Shitty First Drafts.” You can read more about the way I use down/up/dental drafting in my “how to write a novel” newsletter.

• hypotaxis & parataxis — 8/30 — Rhetorical devices whose meanings are very specific but I tend to stretch them. For me, a hypotactic narrator is one who mostly uses long, complex sentences; a paratactic narrator uses short, simple sentences.

• working outline — 08/31

• down draft — 08/31 — See up draft.