I have groceries. I have words. I cleaned out the icebox because it was full of frightening science experiments that I forgot about while I was writing my last project. I think it’s safe to say that today was a return to productivity on the authorial front, even if it was devoid of filmmaking or fancy publishing types. More’s the pity.

—

Conjure Man
New words: 1,058
Total: 5,139
Reason for stopping: Goal, sleep tiem nao
Mean things: Plot points, lying to those you care about out of necessity

Authorial notes: Two words for the story accomplished today: Oh SNAP. Things just got a whole lot worse for Jack and Pete than even Jack realizes, and his lies are just exacerbating this stuff. He never, never learns.

I like this:

For all he prided himself on quick reflexes and quicker wits, Jack froze. He froze like a man caught out, with his sins on display like scars.

Other work: Nothing much, but I did read most of my current book yesterday while I was on set.  Forced boredom FTW in terms of productivity.
Reading: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

So, no, I haven’t gotten any writing done in the last two days.  Because I was busy doing things like entertaining big New York editors and being an extra in big Hollywood movies.

Okay, that probably requires some explanation…

On Sunday, Team Seattle took Heather Osborn, Tor’s most ghetto-fabulous editor, all around Seattle and showed her things that we had no intention of actually doing, such as the EMP, the Seattle Aquarium, the duck tours, the ice cream cruise and a restaurant that Mark really liked in the International District.  We DID take Heather to Lakeview Cemetery to see where Bruce Lee was buried, and to Uwajimaya, and consumed approximately 17,000 calories apiece on Tor’s dime.  From the breakfast of enormous omelet and even more enormous toast at Hi-Spot to cupcakes at Trophy to the salmon and tomato pasta at Flying Fish, food was the unifying theme of the day.  I enjoyed hanging with Heather, Mark, Caroline and Richelle, but don’t take my word for it.

What do you think, Disapproving Caitlin?

Okay, maybe not so much…

Then, Monday, I went up to Wallingford to be an extra in this. I was originally supposed to be a Goth kid, but when I got there, the director had decided that one Goth kid (who actually had a speaking role) was enough, and so the makeup department (a nice lady named Kim) sprayed all of my streaks over with that color spray you use on Halloween.  Wardrobe gave me a red hoodie to go with the “school uniform” of my polo and shorts, and off I went…to sit.  For hours.  Being an extra is, in a nutshell, 15 hours of sitting around talking to other extras, punctuated by twenty-minute chunks where you go stand on set, move when the director yells “Background!” and then go back and sit more.  If you’re bored, you can read, listen to the incredibly pretentious extra talk about standing next to Russell Crowe on the set of LA Confidential, or abuse the kindness of craft services.  I have no idea how actresses maintain their anorexia nervosa, becuase the supply of food on a set is truly neverending.

Bobcat Goldthwait wears a Davy Crockett hat on set, because he is the director and one of the few grown men in American who can get away with that sort of thing.  He’s extremely subdued in person, kind of like your easygoing uncle who teaches theater.  If your uncle wears a Davy Crockett hat.  The only time he got wild was when he and Robin Williams started barking like two small yappy dogs, and continued on for several minutes.

Speaking of my brush with fame…I never cared for Robin Williams’s comedy, but in person he’s funny as shit.  He came and talked to the extras between shots, and riffed constantly.  It wasn’t the obnoxious kind of riffing, the kind people do to get attention just for the hell of it, it was more like an unconscious tic.  And hey, it was funny stuff, so I ain’t complaining.

I also got to be smart when one of the other extras asked me why the set dresser was taking photos of us.  “For reshoots,” I said.

“What are reshoots?”

“You know…continuity?”

“What’s continuity?”

“Um, well.  If they have to re-shoot the scene later, like if something goes wrong with the print, they need to know where everyone was standing and what wardrobe we had and…really?  ‘What’s continuity’?”

Okay, I didn’t say the last part, and that gal was a total sweetheart, but am I the only one who knows this stuff?  Me and Bobcat Goldthwait, man.  Being smart so you don’t have to.

Anyway, if you see the film, look for me in the entrance hall scene, talking to a jock and another popular girl and pantomiming laughter, as well as painting a fake picture in art class.  Hollywood here I come.

Seriously.

Just posting my progress before I fall into bed and do it all over again tomorrow, at the obscene hour of 7:30 a.m.

Oh, and the worldbuilding workshop for PNWA was really fantastic.  We had an enthused group of participants and a dynamic class overall.  I had fun.  Remind me to tell you all about the fish dinner that almost killed Cherie when I’m not so sleepy.

—

Conjure Man
New words: 810
Total: 4,081
Reason for stopping: Goal, scene
Mean things: Precarious mental states, visit from an old friend

Authorial notes: I kept whining I was too tired to write when I got home, but I decided I should at least try for half an hour before I went to bed, and lo and behold I got us to our first major left turn in the story.  I’m wondering if it happened too fast, but I don’t think so.  I have a feeling there will be a lot of fleshing, like there was on Street Magic. At any rate, this scene was monstrously fun to write and Jack continues to astound me with the amount of lyricism he keeps hidden under his “Fuck off and die” public face.

Other work: Teaching fancy workshop.  Hobnobbing with fancy editors.  At Taco Bell.
Reading: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

I’m still trying to wrap my brain around The Dark Knight, but it’s as valid a commentary on the state of so-called civilized society as any I’ve seen in the last few years, and the savagery of the filmmaking is both brutally beautiful and deeply disturbing. It’s oddly appropriate in this day and age that the strongest indictment of a violence-anesthetized and greed-driven culture is a film about a guy who dresses up like a giant bat and fights a bazooka-wielding clown.

Needless to say, I loved it and I’d like to analyze some of the themes Christopher Nolan was working with a bit more when I’ve had time to absorb it. (And, um, perhaps see it again…) Also, the Joker was note-perfect, if you’re working from Alan Moore’s Killing Joke, which the Nolan brothers clearly tapped as source material both for story and character.

Going to a Christopher Nolan Batman movie is like seeing a really good, complex, crunchy urban fantasy novel projected directly from inside the writer’s head onto the screen, if that makes any sense. There are so many layers, so many surprises, so many small grace notes interwoven with the action ballet of chasing, fighting and flying that it’s really more like a literary experience than a cinematic one. Populated by pretty men in suits, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the Joker.

Go see it. Now.

—

It wasn’t a great writing day, as I was pretty hung over from being up until 4 a.m. with the midnight movie, but something did shake loose on the Project That Shall Not Be Named, and I’m going to outline that tomorrow before I head up to SeaTac to teach the worldbuilding workshop with the other fine folk of Team Seattle. It’s always a good sign when characters start handing you not only scenes and dialogue but also motivation and actions to drive the narrative. It’s happened twice now, with Dead Girl and with this, which I’m code-naming Project Voldemort, because really, wouldn’t you?

It doesn’t feel like headspace-work is actual work, but if you don’t think about your narratives, let them crawl inside your brain and wriggle around and get comfortable (I know, a gross image, but a true one), then you can’t really know what you’re writing about. You’ll get the flash and shine, the surface without substance, but you’ll get none of the meaty, gristle-and-bone stuff that makes up the underpinnings of a story. You’ll get Batman & Robin instead of The Dark Knight. And no one wants that.

I just wrote up my to-do list on Jarvis to keep myself from becoming confused (as frequently happens) and it looks like this:

1. Keep writing Conjure Man (the one thing I’ve really worked on lately.)
2. Make actual progress on the novella, because it’s due scarily soon
3. Outline Project Voldemort
4. Actually start writing Project Voldemort instead of just jabbering about it
5. Write 50 pages of Dead Girl (or more. More is good.)

I am mildly terrified, but I will prevail.

—

Conjure Man
New words: 686
Total: 3,273
Reason for stopping: Scene
Mean things: Threats, accusations of being a fake, litigation, being scolded by Pete
Authorial notes: Under count today, but I think I’ve found the groove of the book. To wit:

“We needed that money,” Pete said. “My savings are nearly out and you’ve got the shirt on your back, if that.” She cast a look at Jack’s NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF slogan, displayed in red across his chest. “And did it have to be that shirt, in particular?”

“Hasn’t got any holes,” he protested. “No visible stains. What’s wrong with it?”

Other work: Plotting for Project Voldemort, making a fancy to-do list
Reading: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

The Garou Loop has posted a review of Night Life, which is always nice to see.

—

I got my hands on the manuscript that I agreed to critique for the Live Long & Marry auction, and I’ll probably get cracking on that this weekend since I need to have it done before I leave for Tulsa.  It’s a paranormal romance that turned out more like urban fantasy, as described by the author, and I’m looking forward to doing the critique.

Rachel also gave me a green light on the latest incarnation of my YA proposal, which now needs at least 50 pages of the novel in addition to the synopsis I worked up.  “Dead Girl”, as it’s code named, went in a somewhat different direction than I’d planned, but I like it.  It’s got a black comedy edge, and a main character who won’t shut up.  Good combination.

I can totally juggle four projects in various stages, right?  Right.  Any temporary madness, painting on the walls in catsup, or claims of being a ninja should be ignored…my creative process must be unfettered, in all of its glory.  Even if that glory is wearing a trash bag and has uneven pupils by the time my projects are finished.

—

Conjure Man
New words: 1,020
Total: 2,587
Reason for stopping: Goal, time to go see The Dark Knight
Mean things: Jack’s abilities being used in the context of parlor tricks, English middle class snobbery
Authorial notes: Jack is being a real wanker today, just snarking on everyone.  I love it.  His moods translate really well into changes in story beats and the language he uses, and I feel like I’m on the inside a lot more than I did writing the first draft of Pete’s point of view in Street Magic.

Other work: Blogging at the League, checking the Dead Girl outline for plot holes before I start writing the partial, geeking out over it being Goddamn Batman Day at last
Reading: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

First thing first–reader questions!

Guenivere asks, in the wake of Spell Bound’s completion:

Does this mean that the Nocturne City series is over? That it will only be five books long?

Yes and no.  Yes, the series is off my plate for now because we haven’t spoken to my editor about renewing the contract yet, but the story arc put in motion in Night Life is at least six books long.  The Hexiverse is open-ended, so there are as many stories as I care to write and St. Martin’s cares to publish.

Also, I have another item to report: All of Team Seattle (me, Mark Henry, Richelle Mead, Kat Richardson and Cherie Priest) will be teaching the Urban Fantasy Worldbuilding workshop for the PNWA conference in Seattle this Saturday from 4-5:30 P.M.

If you’re attending PNWA and interested in writing urban fantasy (or kick-ass worldbuilding), this is the workshop to attend.  Richelle and I taught it last year and it was loads of fun.

—

I had a day of what’s colloquially known as Lazy Brain, when all my brain wanted to do was lie on the sofa and watch crappy daytime television.  I know by now to not try and force words when I’ve got Lazy Brain, because they end up being Not Very Good.  I made myself get up and mow the lawn instead, as well as take a firm hand with the weeds that had grown up in the garden.  Then I did research for a few hours on potential story lines and world background for my YA proposal, hoping to shake something loose.  When I plot a book, it’s a lot like slotting together a clockwork machine–gears, cogs, a motor and a nice shiny case to hold all of my inner workings.  Usually everything falls together and I have a very clear blueprint (although never as clear as I first thing) but not so with this book.  I know what I want to include, and I have an idea of the sort of people that should be telling the story, but the details aren’t there.  I’ve got a box of rusty parts, a torn set of instructions in Japanese, and my Lazy Brain forgot to include one of those little allen wrenches to tighten up the joints.

I did do a little bit of work on the novel, so the day wasn’t a complete wash in the keep-me-clothed-and-fed sense.  And my lawn and garden are fabulously tidy.  Never underestimate the power of a Lazy Brain attack to clean your house.

—

Here’s the proof that I didn’t spend the entire day watching My Life on the D-List reruns:

Conjure Man
New words: 502
Total: 1,567
Reason for stopping: Scene beat, need to figure out how the next part works in relation to the worldbuilding already in place
Mean things: Ghost of a murder victim
Authorial notes: I’ve discovered something about Jack.  For all of the fuss he makes trying to prove he’s as disaffected and full of fuckoffery as the next aging punk, he has a remarkably poetic inner monologue.  I’m thinking he’s been reading books on the sly.

Other work: YA research/hairpulling
Reading: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

So, out of the ten thousand eleventyone many items on my list for the day, I managed to at least shave some work off each and every one of them except the YA outline. I worked on the novella, I worked on the Big Seekrit, I weeded and edged the garden beds and the yard, and best of all, I began work on the draft of Conjure Man, the second book in the Black London series.

I’m bringing back the progress report, because it keeps me honest and people seem to enjoy it. Without further ado…

Conjure Man
New words: 1,065
Total: 1,065
Reason for stopping: Quota.
Mean things: Stage fright, Pete yelling at Jack
Authorial notes: This is the first book I’ve written following a male POV. Sure, it’s a close third narration, but still…if I didn’t know Jack so well, it’d be rough going.

Other work: Novella, brainstorming for the YA outline, secret work on the seekrit project
Reading: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

And that, my friends, is that.  Book 2 is off and running.

Two items that bear a reminder:

You can bid on a critique of your first 50 pages from me at the Live Long & Marry Auction to support gay marriage in California.

And the Pure Blood ARC contest is still going on at the League.  This will be the only ARC I’m able to give away for Pure Blood, so I encourage you to submit your entries before Thursday.

And now for some good news…

The revision for Spell Bound is off to my agent, and that finishes out the run of five Nocturne City books that I’ve been contracted for.  It’s always a feeling of contentment to have a contract off my plate, and also the nervous anticipation of what I’ll come up with for the next one.  I have a few ideas at this point, a set of characters and circumstances that I’ve been playing with for a while but never quite had the right framework.  However, there’s a character in my head now who isn’t going away, so perhaps she’s my in to the story.  She’s going to show up somewhere…she’s very persistent and loud.

Today is a watershed day, the start of three new projects, in various stages, on my ever-growing to-do list…I need to start writing my novella, work up an outline for the Big Seekrit Project (isn’t it fun to have one project always be a secret?  Is for me, at least…feels very spy-movie.)  I will say that BSP enabled me to visit Office Depot this morning, and I say enabled deliberately, because I have A Wee Problem with office supplies.  I love them.  Pens, notebooks, index cards, those little storage modules for the desk, whiteboards, organizers…I always have to do a full circuit of the store, oogling all the wonderful, color-coded splendor.  I don’t pretend it’s rational, but freely admit that I have a fever, and the only cure is more office supplies.  So I’m liking the BSP a great deal.

I also need to re-work the outline for my YA proposal because I had a few ideas once I’d sent it off to my agent on how I could make it better.  I always seem to think of something that would make the book tighter right after I hit the SEND button to someone else.  Just my brain’s friendly way of saying “Gee, dummy…whyn’tcha put that in during the first draft?”  I haven’t found it a decent answer yet.

Right…I have my tea, I have my list, I have background noise going on TV.  I even have some free wifi accrued on my Starbuck’s card if I need to get out of the house.  Time to work.

Don’t forget to enter the Pure Blood ARC contest over at the League of Reluctant Adults. Delicious ARCs, for your winning pleasure.

Got word a few days ago that I’ve been invited as a guest to Dragon*Con in August, and I’m quite pleased. I’ll be there with Cherie Priest and Jackie Kessler, as well as actual famous people like Laurell Hamilton and Sherrilyn Kenyon. And some actor who used to be on Buffy. You know. That fake blond fake British guy. Him.

So if you want to meet me in the next few months, here’s where I’ll be:

July 25-27th
Conestoga: Fangs, Fur & Fey Mini-Con
Tulsa, OK

July 30-August 2
RWA Nationals
San Francisco, CA

August 26th
Seattle Mystery Bookshop appearance & signing for Pure Blood release
Seattle, WA

August 29-September 1
Dragon*Con
Atlanta, GA

I’m looking forward to going back to San Francisco, and to Atlanta because D*Con is Kind Of a Big Deal.  But it’s going to be so hot everywhere…I guess I better stock up on sunscreen and fancy hats…

All details that you need to win an ARC of the second Nocturne City novel, Pure Blood, are here.

Pure Blood won’t be out until August 26th, so this is the perfect chance to get a sneak peek at the second installment in the series!

And as always, if you’re a reviewer who would like an ARC, please email me so I can forward your information to my publicist: caitlinkittredge [at] gmail [dot] com.