I download an open-source office suite called openOffice.org (I think they title is mainly so they can call it oOo), and I'm really happy, because I wasn't looking forward to the day when I'd have to install Word and such on this computer. The word-processing program is spiffy and fun, and seems to have a lot of funtionality.

I'm going to do my writing in there, because trying to write directly into Moveable Type was making all my segments be too short. I'm pretty pleased with the way things were going, although I am worried that writing too many things from Doran's point of view will give the reader too much information, too early.

I guess I was sort of going with the theory that the reader discovers the nature of the world on the same sort of timeline as Valerie. But that isn't how things are shaping up, and it's generating me too many words for me to complain. So I'm going to go with that; I like the freedom it gives me, it was hard to always be limited to Valerie's small knowledge and experiences and perspective. And I think Doran has a lot of potential to rebel. There's all kinds of directions this thing could go.

Today and yesterday we've been having a pretty hard time - unrelated to writing the novel, but this afternoon I realized that all of my frustration and angst were putting me right into Valerie's tired little shoes, and I think instead of writing in tunneling this month I'll be using a lot of our feelings to put into the book. It's all for a good cause.

I find myself wishing I could be more like Valerie - she seems so much stronger than most of us are here, so much more able to say fuck-you to the world.

I think writing in a word-processing document is allowing me to write with more quantity and less quality, less worrying, less editing. I think that's a good thing.