it's the end of the world as we know it

My editor sent back the proofs with a few queries and additional suggested changes, so I spent yesterday slicing and dicing words and chapters.

LOTS of markup. To my surprise, however, this was a quick page to get through. Go figure.

LOTS of markup. To my surprise, however, this was a quick page to get through. Go figure.

Some I've-lost-count-pages later, it is done and all the chapters are of much less variable proportions. Subconsciously I must have known what I was doing, since I didn't have to chop any scenes to get the chapters to line up, but consciously I suspect my chapter formation process is along the lines of "How many pages since I last inserted a page break? Can't remember. This'll do. What do you mean I can't have a 300 page chapter followed by a 3 page chapter? The 300 page chapter has scene breaks, after all…"1

Thank the lord for editors, is all I can say!

Today, my brain feels like mush, but it's straight back to revisions on the sequel for me. I am having a dreadful time resisting the urge to start the revisions again from the first page each time I do an edit-pass on Shadow Queen and figure out some new writerly tic I need to eradicate. For example, I suspect I have an aversion to joining words so deep-seated it makes my eternally patient editors and proofreaders weep with frustration. Um…oops?

  1. Some authorial exaggeration is to be expected here. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story is what I say. [↩]

It's The End Of The World As We Know It (R.E.M. — The Very Best of MTV Unplugged)

Categories: shadow bound, shadow queen, writing life
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Comments

  1. Sir Tessa [22 October 2008 @ 12:21 pm]

    You know, when all this is done with, and the book is actually a book, on the shelves and out of your control, you should burn a copy. You know, just to get lingering feelings of frustration out. Heh.

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  2. damselfly [22 October 2008 @ 12:25 pm]

    We can call it therapy!

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  3. damselfly [22 October 2008 @ 12:26 pm]

    Ooh, not to mention publicity!

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  4. Tess @ Work [22 October 2008 @ 6:46 pm]

    It's want I intend to do should I ever have a book out. You get to launch ships by smashing bottles on them, therefore, you should get to launch books by burning them.

    I was thinking of taking it literally, and strapping a book to some fireworks, but just setting one on fire is less likely to get me arrested.

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  5. damselfly [22 October 2008 @ 6:56 pm]

    If you were to launch the book in Canberra, you could do the fireworks trick without fear of arrest ;)

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