09/02-03/2012: That's a lot of typing...

So last night, Sunday 09/02/2012, I started typing "Interlude", the next completed story in the A Bright Symmetry anthology.  Now, I didn't type continuously, rather took some breaks, did some laundry.  Still, around 4:30 on the morning of 09/03/2012, I finished the story.  "Interlude" is 6935 words long.

That's a lot of typing.

Still, it did give me time to think, plan and ponder.  I had been wondering if the last planned story for the anthology, titled "Being", actually did fit in with the rest of the stories.  There's an arc that runs through the first six stories, starting with "Only Time..." and ending a year later, at the end of "Interlude".  The last story, "...and Forever", puts a period on that sentence.  "Being" doesn't fit in with that, seeing as it take place a few years after "Interlude".

So I've come to the decision that "Being" won't be in the anthology.  I may write it later on, but not right now.  Instead, along with "Only Time..." and "...and Forever", I'm going to write a short piece, for the moment titled "Intermezzo", a short piece that bridges the six month gap between "Really Real" and "The Arc of Heaven".  It addresses some things that nagged at me while working on "The Arc of Heaven".  For example, how did the expedition come about?  Yes, Scott needed to get out to the edge of the galaxy, where Zoe's people live, but he could've done on his own.  How did the Science Directorate get involved, and why was there an ambassador along for the ride?  It is mentioned in "The Arc of Heaven" that the Science Directorate had been watching Scott and Zoe from a distance for a little while, based on the reports filed after "A God to Dance With" and "Really Real".  Perhaps they approached Scott, proposed a more formal expedition, which would include an ambassador to negotiate with a new race.  Scott's insistence on using Arcadia and her ship could've been a sticking point.

Hmmm...

Anyway, the current word count is:  01 "Only Time..." (not started yet); 02 "A God to Dance With: (7724 words); 03 "Really Real" (needs a new title, 2331 words); 04 "Intermezzo" (not started yet); 05"The Arc of Heaven" (18306 words); 06 "Interlude" (needs a new title, 6935 words); 07 "...and Forever" (not started yet).

As of right now, the whole project is 35296 words.  I'm not really concerned with the total length on this project; the research I've done has shown me there are publishers, both traditional and epublishing, who'll at least consider a shorter work.  We'll see how it goes.