Sunday, January 8, 2012

Dun, dun, DONE!

That's right, who has a first draft? ME!  So the first draft, well it's probably not fit for human consumption just yet and those of you who have been reading, thank-you!

So I just put the whole she-bang together, as Foxtrot was sitting between three word docs, and the grand total (including epigram) is 53,743 (knowing that I need another character and at least two scenes to flesh out the beginning.).

What an extraordinary accomplishment.

But as I am wont to do, I began to think over some of the things that brought me to this story and really what has inspired me.  These, unfortunately, are not pictures (but you can still see those awesome pictures in that post if you like).

War.  War that seems so far removed.  For most of my life, at least the last ten years, I have lived in a country that is at war.  But you wouldn't know it by looking at the streets or hearing people talk.

History.  I grew up in the middle of the country and was always fascinated by the people who would be paid for a buffalo head.  The bigger the head, the more you would be paid.

Medicine. When I was a child I was constantly surrounded by this profession.  Discussed dissected and taken to some places that were interesting to my.  Having recently revisited this wonderful magical place, where one never has to come up to the surface, I believe I stumbled into what I call the substraits.

Theater.  No seriously.  Or I should say my theatrical education which always makes me question people who write literature about revolutions.  In history and with most revolutions they start in the theater.  Did you know La Marriage de Figaro is said to have sparked the French Revolution.  People unite around art because it is an artists responsibility to hold up a mirror to society and show all of the flaws within.  Where others are beheaded, the artist continues to work.  As far back as the ancient Greeks, theater practitioners have been critiquing their government with their bodies on stage.  Secondly, I was thinking over really different things trying to a) name this thing and b) think of something I could put at the beginning to set the mood for me.  I came upon this quote from one of my FAVORITE plays evah!  I think it sums up some of what I am trying to say....

"Because it is my name!  Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!  Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!  How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name."

John Proctor
The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Right, right, good huh?  So with that, I give you all my new title, because Foxtrot was a) totally not the real title and b) it's a hard duck to crack.

Infected
By Gretchen Schreiber

Okays, well I am off to start polishing or just plain reward myself.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations Gretchen! You deserve to treat yourself, in whatever manner you please! Ice cream, comfort movies, ect. Super excited to hear that you finished the first draft of Infected! :D

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  2. Yah! You finished! Sorry I've been MIA lately. Lots going on with me lately but I'm happy for you. It feels great when you finish a MS. Look forward to seeing the final product.

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