I ran out a hard copy of A Fly on the Wall yesterday. Initial corrections were completed on Sunday and I thought I may as well get it printed out. I wrote in Courier New 12, but printed it out in Times New Roman 11 to give my poor, long-suffering eyes a new view of it. That and a few days rest will make it seem fresh, at least at this stage.
Usually I stick to the obvious errors and wait for the editing-proper cycle to get big stuff done. This time was different.
I read Twilight (Stephenie Meyer, Little, Brown and C0mpany, copyright 2005) last week to see what all the fuss was about. I realized partway through I was doing something she'd been criticized for.
I'd been tossing in weak and pointless non-restrictive adjective clauses. I thought they were charming and part of the voice.
Her clauses got her a book contract. Mine had to go.
As ruthless as I was, some still remain. Perhaps a few will be spared.
Meanwhile, I am lost. My creative self is off having an after-work beer while my editing self is too busy sticking its tongue out at me to be of any use.
That leaves reading --and the last resort of housework--to keep me occupied while I wonder what I'll write next. I have an idea for another book, but it refuses to make itself fully known.
Fortunately I've been topping up the TBR pile even as I'm trying to trim it.
The other day I started reading a book about Aristotle and how he came to teach the young Alexander.
Here are two sentences from The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Vintage Canada, copyright 2009)
"I follow my nephew's finger and see the city on the marshy plain below us, bigger than I remember, more sprawling. The rains is thinning, spitting and spatting now, under a suddenly lucid gold-grey sky."
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And from A Fly on the Wall:
"You know, Dottie, that's exactly what this young man did. We're ancient history, legends, mythical almost. We're Sasquatches to him and he's put a mirror up to us."
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Thanks everyone. I appreciate your interest.
For more or to get in on the fun, please see the Women of Mystery.
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10 comments:
Great lines, cousin!
Hopefully, your writer-self won't be gone drinking too long (and certainly no hangover will be involved) and you won't have to resort to the dreaded housework to keep yourself occupied!
Thank you, Cousin. I assure you, the housework is an absolute last resort.
Wonderful sentences Leah! Thanks for sharing!
Crystal, thanks so much.
Your lines capture an essence of someone facing a hard truth. I like them, and I'm predisposed to like that character because of it.
Thanks so much, Messymimi.
Ah, editing! I'm so brain dead where my own writing's concerned that it's all I can add!
I always enjoy the FOTW samples. I think I'm getting a sense of the tone, and I like it!
I'm glad you're enjoying them, Clare. And good to know you like the tone.
Wonderful descriptive sentences, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for coming by, Ursula.
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