Wednesday, June 27
It's been... a couple of days. Bah. The power went out twice yesterday, which was Very Bad. We need power for a lot of things. Finishing the cheesemake we're in the middle of, for example. Getting water to our cows. Cooling our cheese. Milking. Lights, which are a wee bit important when your job consists of washing cheeses in a windowless, underground cellar.
The power idjits got things straightened out finally, but everyone went home exhausted and in a foul mood.
Other, random stuff:
This amused me. I mean, really. Do I strike anyone as an R-rated kind of gal?

That's what years of swearing and discussing kinky animal sex will get you, I guess.
Oh, and I got a rather nifty message from this author which pretty much made my day. I'd corresponded with him briefly before, clearing up some stuff about the agent list. I run the list because, well, because it sort of grew on me without me noticing, and I don't really expect to get anything out of it, but hearing that I contributed to somebody's book deal (however indirectly) is a bit of a warm fuzzy. Also, the book sounds cool, and we need more cool books in the world.
And finally, the inevitable --
Rewrite Progress
Comments: Nothing much to say, really. I'm getting near the end of what I think of as the really messy part, aka "over three-quarters of what I've written". It'll be interesting to see if the non-messy bits live up to expectations.
Changes: Replaced panicked authorial leap with an actual logical sequence of events. Curse you, logic! The panicking was much easier.
The power idjits got things straightened out finally, but everyone went home exhausted and in a foul mood.
Other, random stuff:
This amused me. I mean, really. Do I strike anyone as an R-rated kind of gal?

Mingle2 - Online Dating
That's what years of swearing and discussing kinky animal sex will get you, I guess.
Oh, and I got a rather nifty message from this author which pretty much made my day. I'd corresponded with him briefly before, clearing up some stuff about the agent list. I run the list because, well, because it sort of grew on me without me noticing, and I don't really expect to get anything out of it, but hearing that I contributed to somebody's book deal (however indirectly) is a bit of a warm fuzzy. Also, the book sounds cool, and we need more cool books in the world.
And finally, the inevitable --
Rewrite Progress
| |
144 / 172 (83.7%) |
Comments: Nothing much to say, really. I'm getting near the end of what I think of as the really messy part, aka "over three-quarters of what I've written". It'll be interesting to see if the non-messy bits live up to expectations.
Changes: Replaced panicked authorial leap with an actual logical sequence of events. Curse you, logic! The panicking was much easier.
Saturday, June 23
Yes, I know. I haven't been posting. Work took another of its dramatic upwards swings, and on top of that I've had really terrible energy for the past two weeks or so. I'm tired all the time, sleeping insane amounts (when I can sleep in, that is) and generally dragging around being snappy and moody. I also missed a period, which suggested an obvious reason for all this, but the miracles of modern technology assure me it is Not So. Apparently the missed period is a symptom, not a cause.
Whatever. I don't care what's making me tired and whiny, but it can go away ANY TIME NOW.
However, the work crunch seems to be slackening, which means back to writing.
Rewrite Progress
Comments: The good news: only fifty pages left. The bad news: I'm into the really serious flounder, where not only did I not have any idea what I was doing when I wrote this stuff, I have only a hazy idea what I'm doing now. It's the heart of the Dreaded Middle and how I'm getting from where I am to where I need to be... well. Um. Look! A pink elephant!
It's slowly coming clear, though. I just have to keep banging at it.
Changes: Threw out a lot of meaningless dancing around. Revised the Naxan herdsman scene so it's (mostly) in line with what I'm doing now. Figured out how to dump a lot of Clues into the narrative in a reasonably sneaky way.
Whatever. I don't care what's making me tired and whiny, but it can go away ANY TIME NOW.
However, the work crunch seems to be slackening, which means back to writing.
Rewrite Progress
| |
122 / 172 (70.9%) |
Comments: The good news: only fifty pages left. The bad news: I'm into the really serious flounder, where not only did I not have any idea what I was doing when I wrote this stuff, I have only a hazy idea what I'm doing now. It's the heart of the Dreaded Middle and how I'm getting from where I am to where I need to be... well. Um. Look! A pink elephant!
It's slowly coming clear, though. I just have to keep banging at it.
Changes: Threw out a lot of meaningless dancing around. Revised the Naxan herdsman scene so it's (mostly) in line with what I'm doing now. Figured out how to dump a lot of Clues into the narrative in a reasonably sneaky way.
Sunday, June 03
Much of Friday and all of yesterday got eaten by the Road Trip Monster because we went down to Raleigh for DCampSouth. This was fun for all. Dan got to go to sessions and talk to people and generally get so revved up about usability that you could practically see the sparks coming off his brain, and I got to hang out on the fringes amiably watching, and meet some cool people, and hole up in the spare rooms working on my rewrite and playing with their iMacs. Mmmm. SHINY iMacs. If I had a thousand bucks to throw around, the trusty Sawtooth might be in serious peril.
On the downside, I had to deal with North Carolina city roads. The maniacs who designed these things must be first cousins to the ones from Toronto, only with smaller budgets. I spent a lot of the time hunched over the wheel muttering, "Lane becomes exit only. Right lane ends. Left lane ends. Badly-marked exit requires everyone to veer across three lanes of traffic simultaneously -- hey, I know! Why don't you hang up some hoops, light them on fire, and tell me I have to jump through them! Wouldn't that be fun!"
Seriously. Do these people think? Or are they just servants of Cthulhu who get bonus point for every human they drive into homicidal road rage?
Anyway.
Rewrite Progress
Comments: Told you I got a lot done at the conference. Yay for no distractions!
Changes: Ye gods, I don't know. There were chunks of scene flying everywhere, and I still have at least two free-floating scenes that need to be plugged into the story later. I have just over 40 notecards written up, about half of which are for new scenes. Did I mention I was doing scene notecards? I'm doing scene notecards.
On the downside, I had to deal with North Carolina city roads. The maniacs who designed these things must be first cousins to the ones from Toronto, only with smaller budgets. I spent a lot of the time hunched over the wheel muttering, "Lane becomes exit only. Right lane ends. Left lane ends. Badly-marked exit requires everyone to veer across three lanes of traffic simultaneously -- hey, I know! Why don't you hang up some hoops, light them on fire, and tell me I have to jump through them! Wouldn't that be fun!"
Seriously. Do these people think? Or are they just servants of Cthulhu who get bonus point for every human they drive into homicidal road rage?
Anyway.
Rewrite Progress
| |
92 / 172 (53.5%) |
Comments: Told you I got a lot done at the conference. Yay for no distractions!
Changes: Ye gods, I don't know. There were chunks of scene flying everywhere, and I still have at least two free-floating scenes that need to be plugged into the story later. I have just over 40 notecards written up, about half of which are for new scenes. Did I mention I was doing scene notecards? I'm doing scene notecards.