Fun - oddly enough

It's cold and crisp and we could use a little snow to lay about ... you know the rest.

I use the holiday mug pictured. I've had it  for over 20 years now. It is comfortable.

I've fixed the plot outline of a story that is important to me and tonight I start the detail work of  writing the scenes. I've pieces that may end up included but it is doubtful. I almost never use the scarps of dialogue and narration that I write to get me through the outline. Somehow, the story turns and these are no longer the drivers.

Tonight :

Adjective-free prose. We're covering the action and the barest of descriptions. We'll include physical objects in the scene for anchors and a sense of truth. However, simile and metaphor can take a break in a draft.

Active voice only. Characters do.

Also, character speech attributions will be "said"  perhaps "asked" and possibly "answered" if my vigilance is low. The reader is smart enough to fill the rest in without the hackneyed "groaned," "sighed," "inquired" or any of the other focus-distracting bits.

I've got a good story here. I'm going to tell it square and true. I will include enough detail for the reader to be put in the room with the characters but not enough to showcase a command of language. This is prose.

I have a good outline. That's a good $100 in the bank towards success. I don't have to cast about for gimmicks to get through the story.

I will take time with the dialogue. I will not rush through the bits of conflict.

I will love my characters.

I will have fun. You should do the same.