A Day in the Life

So it's about 3 p.m., and thus far, I have:

1. Gone back and added some necessary information to two scenes.

2. Cleaned up the "wobbly" point of view in one scene (his, hers, mine...yep, wobbly).

3. Written seven new pages of a scene, but then had to stop to look up how to pick a medieval lock, i.e. a warded lock, and also skeleton keys. This is where Google and the internet come in really handy.

Thinking "warded" locks might have something in common with "warden", I then looked that up, too, and yup. Warden comes from "warder" which means "to guard." Neat.

In this scene, in addition to relaying some very necessary backstory of my hero's, which will come into big play at the end of the book, and revealing some more information about just how sneaky the villain is, the hero has to teach the heroine how to pick a lock. It's also going to be a love scene -- a fun love scene, I hope, what with the hiding of skeleton keys in oh, say, a bodice.

I don't think a scene should ever do just one thing, like reveal one piece of information. I want a whole bunch of things to happen in any given scene. If a scene's only doing one job, I usually combine it with another, or take out the bit of necessary information and put it in another scene. Otherwise, zzzzzz, because whatever comes before and after in that scene is just so much padding.

My characters won't refer to the lock they need to pick as a "warded" lock. I think it would be the most common type of lock back then, so to them, it's just a lock. The hero may have a skeleton key, but if he does, he won't call it that. Too modern (origin approximately 1800 -- but you can't tell me clever thieves hadn't devised something like it earlier even if they didn't call it that). So I'm fine with him having a skeleton key, but not referring to it by that name. Ditto "pick the lock" - sounds too modern. But I may cave on that if I can't find a more medieval-sounding alternative.

After I did that research, I ate lunch and watched Law & Order.

Also thus far, I have done four loads of laundry, run errands and discovered copies of BRIDE OF LOCHBARR from Spain (cool!) in the mail, as well as checked my email a couple of times, and written this blog.

I still hope to finish that love scene before it's time to start the spaghetti and meatballs.

By the time dinner's over, I'll be ready to sit down and, if my day is to be well and truly made, watch Rocky get kicked off Survivor, after seeing Henry on Ugly Betty (and bemoaning their star-crossed love). Any show that has me calling out, "Kiss her! Kiss her!" at the TV works for me!

ETA: Oh, joy! Rocky be out! Although still on the jury, so I'll have to no doubt endure eye rolling and grimacing, etc. etc.

And now, at 9:39 p.m., it's off to try to finish that love scene. I got to page 12 before breaking for dinner.