Nov 302006
Nov 292006
Nov 262006
I have finely honed procrastination skills, and they're pretty much always at the fore. Tricking myself out of procrastinating is an endless process which constantly requires new weapons in the arsenal. Any time one tactic stops working, it's time to bring in a different big gun. Off the top of my head, here's ten of them1:
- And by all references to "you" in the list I, naturally, mean "me"
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Nov 252006
Heidi Kneale reports on Allen & Unwin editor Louise Thurtell's Friday Pitch.
Nov 242006
Revising lately is a case of achingly slow and only marginally preferable to teeth-pulling. I'm not sure if this is because of my too-full days or something more sinister like a broken story. I'm going to blithely assume it's the former for a little while longer at least. It is entirely possible, what with everything that's going on in the non-writing part of my world, that I simply need a little fallow time. Much as I like to be a write every day type, the truth is … sometimes I'm not. Most times I am, but sometimes I'm not. Maybe this is one of those times.
Nov 192006
The cats aren't talking to me today. They and I have a fundamental disagreement of this nature every twelve weeks, when I shove worm tablets down their gullets. I'm not too worried: I figure their eventual hunger will make them affectionate again, oh, around dinner time this afternoon.
I am on a Snow Patrol kick lately, and have been for the last few months. This is because their album, Eyes Open, frankly, rocks.
Luckily, she says sarcastically, one of their songs was featured in the recent (for Aussies) season's ending to Grey's Anatomy. Which means that every commercial radio station in the country is currently in some kind of escalating competition to see who can play said song the most during any given day. Because clearly that old absence makes the heart grow fonder saw is nothing but tripe and trollop and what we all need to fall in love with this song and thus run out and buy it is to hear it one! more! time!
because commas count, kids
journal
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Nov 182006
Dear coffee shop next door to where I work:
May I suggest you examine the (lack of a) comma on your sign? I'm not going to harass you over the issue of the serial comma: it's something only writers and editors quibble about, after all. But if you want a list, then please use a comma after "public".
Because the phrase Serving the public hospital staff and visitors actually means something quite different to what you intend.
Or at least I hope it does. If you genuinely mean to tell me you're serving up hospital staff and visitors to the public, then I for one won't be partaking of any of your sandwiches in the future.
Quibblingly,
Me
(Also: Your prices are exorbitant. That is all.)
um, no
journal, pre-crash, shadow queen, writing life
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Nov 122006
A week and a day since the evil illness struck, and I'm finally feeling normal again. Well, the majority of the time I'm feeling normal again. I'll take what progress I can.
I wish I could say the same for my work. The dayjob is in a state of flux since my boss' resignation, which makes the atmosphere … not tense, exactly, but it's certainly not as relaxed as I've known it.
And my novel? The one I want revised by the end of the year? Yeah, I'm behind on that. It's hard to concentrate on revising stuff when you can't make your eyes focus, and let's just say I can't trust any of the thoughts I had while sick, since they mostly involved things I'm very sure I don't want in the novel. Like dragons, specifically purple polka-dot dragons. Dragons need not apply for this revision, thank you very much.
The good news is I've been reading the manuscript over, and it's not nearly as bad as I thought. Oh, there's scaffolding (oh my Lord, the scaffolding!) and squidgy spots in the plot and characters who switch names on every page and magic injuries that hurt like the billy-oh on receiving but then magically vanish. Those, given enough time, I can fix. The dodgy ending is a little more problematic. I'm hoping that I'll have come up with a fix by the time the revision reaches the final pages. Optimism much?
What's truly entertaining on a read-through are the comments I've left myself during the first draft:
:: Kamikaze!
:: What the hell am I talking about?
:: Anachronism much?
:: Um, no.
Nov 112006
Some time ago professional copyeditor Deanna Hoak put up a post on understanding your copyedited manuscript. Helpful in itself. But since then she's put in the time and effort to illustrate the copyediting concept.
Nov 042006
I've been pondering a lot lately about finding the right pace.
I know writers who can churn out 3,000 words in an hour. I know other writers who take hours to produce that much — and yet they'll still have that, or a similarly high figure, as their daily target. I'm presuming that's partly a function of available time, and yet I do know writers quite capable of burning the candle at both ends, working long hours at the dayjob and putting in equally long hours at the writing in any one day. This I find awesome. My own body rebels if ever I try that, and I find myself sleeping at the desk. It probably doesn't help that coffee makes me sick; there's not that many caffeine-free stimulants, you know?