Jam Packed Like a Tiny Clown Car

What the heck am I doing? Last night I was making a list of characters to be sure I didn't forget to make an entry on Hiveword for any of them. I realized I easily and quickly reached 18 without including the extras like the people who are also in the restaurant with the heroes or even there server who has a few lines of dialog. Trying to recall them all made my head feel like top. I started wondering how many characters is too many? The interwebs didn't have a clear answer probably due to the fact that the question is highly subjective and dependent on many variables. I found a lot of posts with guidelines and recommendations with a very similar disclaimer at the end saying that most everything they had just rambled on about doesn't apply if you are writing an epic fantasy. That made me think am I writing an epic fantasy? I don't know, but I received wise advice from author Elise VanCise. She said, "Don't worry about length. Just write the story and then worry about breaking it up if it is necessary later." I find myself so worried about things like genre, themes and how many characters that I am not getting much else done.

On the up side I did have a breakthrough with the antagonist. I now know what he looks like, how he effects the plot at the 2nd and 3rd plot points and some back story. It all came to me at once and I was struggling to get it down, but I believe I have succeeded. I am really looking forward to seeing exactly how he decides to torment my heroine.

ROW80 Rundown:

I am just starting the pom thing. While the theory seems easy and I was excited it also relies upon you having uninterrupted time to concentrate. I have none. My poms are littered with me saying, "Please stop singing by my head," and "Can you please smack each other in another room." My bed time isn't much past Gwen's so this has been a struggle. For instance while writing this post about 15 minutes in I had to stop and handle a situation that no one else was able to handle and couldn't wait. Mostly because some people feel reading directions is optional. While writing that sentence I had to stop a fight. I am starting to feel like this can never get done.


1. Spend 2 poms on plotting using Hiveword.
Thursday: 2 poms attempted. They were not as successful as I would have liked and that led to some discouragement.
Friday: 2 poms attempted and 1 was successful. The other not so much, but we move on.
Saturday: Dearan's birthday and most pom activity was put on hold. I only attempted 1 pom and it was very productive. This is when I pinned down my villain.
Sunday: Today is off to a rocky start and I am now grumpy.

2. Spend 2 poms on posts for this blog.
Other days I didn't have much to say here, but I may start putting stuff in as it happens. I think...that I was interrupted again and now have NO idea what I was planning to add.

3. Spend 1 pom on social media for blog posts.
I mostly spent this on Twitter and am not sure which days I was successful and which I wasn't.

4. Spend 1 pom on visiting other ROW80 bloggers.
I was able to visit 7 of my fellow ROW80 bloggers and that was awesome. I really enjoy this part of the blog hops so glad I was able to get around so much. Take that how ever you like.

What do you say to family to convince them to give you a few minutes peace or be able to figure out what they should be doing without you having to detail every step? **Edit** Someone has recommended Duct Tape. I may or may not be considering it. Leave me a comment and don't forget to let me know where you came from so I can follow you back.

Photos by Pixabay.