Closing in on 50,000

'Brake Fluid' edits are going pretty well. I've been having... probably an unhealthy amount of fun adding music references/lines into this story.

I know I had a post about this before, about how music has kindof taken over this story, even though I'm not hugely into music.

I did play classical piano when I was young (even in a few competitions), I played clarinet during grades 6-8, I even tried learning the guitar once, but quickly gave up. I found it a very frustrating instrument. Bass would have been better, probably, since a good bass line will quickly convert me from a passive listener into an active one.

But even with all that, music was never something I was really passionate about. I enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun playing certain kinds of music (Bach and Chopin, oh how I loved you) but I didn't live and breathe it. I wouldn't die without it.

I think this works well, in the terms of writing this story, because Triss is obsessed with music and the MC is not. I can tap into the part of my brain that felt the freedom and joy of expertly flinging out wild runs across the keyboard, but also the 'meh' attitude of simply enjoying music as background noise.

Certain songs I'm referencing are very important to me, certain artists or bands that trigger an emotional response no matter how often I listen to them, trigger memories of times, places, and people they're associated with... but a lot of other songs are simply referenced because 'they sound good' and that sound suits the mood of the scene.

I also don't want to overdo it, but there are a few songs littered throughout the story that are specifically there to hint at Triss' emotional/mental state of mind (since the MC is a clueless moron). Like, "Last Kiss", the version by Pearl Jam, and a (slightly) obscure song called "Breakfast at Tiffany's", which has been covered by a ton of different bands. "Everything" by Bif Naked is another one, which slid nicely into one of my favourite scenes for a couple of different reasons,"November Rain" by Guns 'n Roses, and Stabbing Westward's "Save Yourself" are also pivotal where/when they show up.

Truly, I don't think I've ever put as much thought into the emotional triggers music can produce since I was a kid, where I could pour all my sorrows and triumphs out through the keyboard. Before I learned how much more fulfilling writing could be.

Right now I'm about halfway through the story. I think, based on what still needs to be filled in, moved, & re-written, it will be around 55,000 when this first/major editing pass is complete.

How is everyone else's progress?