Sunrise, sunset

I should've done this earlier, but I forgot. Anyway, as I'm writing the novel and researching little factual bits as I go along, I'm finding all these cool, random links.

Like today: I wanted to verify the sunrise/sunset times in the year that most of the narrative takes place, and Google sent me to this website by the US Naval Observatory's Astronomical Applications Department, "Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table for One Year". You punch in the year and details for the place you want, and the website generates the sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset times for that entire year.

I didn't actually need that much mathematical and geographical accuracy for the scene I'm writing, but it's still pretty cool.

#amwriting still

It is quite something to go in two days from having half the novel written, to having almost two-thirds of it written. Because all writing is rewriting, as @davechua reminded me recently, so the current burst is fuelled by cannibalising bits and pieces from an earlier draft. The pace will slow down once I have to start writing new scenes from scratch.

That said, I've realised that writing dialogue really fills up the word count. Just have two characters banter for several minutes or so, and you've racked up a hundred words, no, two hundred words or more. Yes, yes, the dialogue should be necessary to the story in some way, not just two characters kibitzing for the hell of it (unless that is part of the story) --- but the kibitzing-for-the-hell-of-it sure is fun to write.

I have two weeks to write another 25,000 words, including figuring out a major plot twist. (The twist has to happen. I just don't know what it is yet.) Don't crunch the numbers --- I know what they are, and on the bright side they're not as scary as they looked two weeks ago.

I am a leaf on the wind ...