2005-07-08, 08:35 AM — the story has landed
So, I have some rather exciting news. After playing with a particular story since 1998, it's finally done.
It clocks in at a whopping 283 (space-and-a-half) pages, which looks suitably impressive when printed double-sided and bound. It's a lot of words (over 100 000) which means there's probably about 50 000 extraneous ones in there. I know this because as I was glancing over it yesterday I picked out about three words that don't need to be in there. On one page.
Furthermore, as I was writing it, certain characters changed and others were dropped or added in, but I didn't make the changes retrospectively, so now I have to go back and do that. And tighten things. And all those things one does with a finished first draft.
Not that I know first-hand what one does with a first draft. I've never finished one before. 18 years of writing stories for fun and I've never, ever completed one.
I'd just like to say it feels fantastic. I know it's only a first draft, but... well, it's funny, because now that it's done, I know I can do it again. From this new vantage point, the possibilities seem endless.
2005-06-26, 11:06 PM — linking gone horribly wrong
Okay, apparently one of my links in the entry below actually points to a Hitler head. Unfortunately, I can't tell which one it is, because they all work fine for me. Anyone care to share which one it is so I can fix it? There's everlasting props to you if you do...
2005-06-25, 09:40 AM — walk list
Meant to post this a day or two ago. Out back of our apartment is a lovely little trail that runs along a (rather mucky, but still pretty) little creek. Despite the fact that we're in the middle of a mid-sized city, the wildlife to be found back there is quite wonderful. On one twenty-minute walk I saw: * a red-spotted purple butterfly, my first of the year and absolutely gorgeous * a white-breasted nuthatch * several adolescent ducks in various stages of getting their adult plumage * young robins just learning how to fly * young song sparrows learning how to sing * grey catbirds, one of my favourites * cardinals * chickadees * spring azures * and one of my favourites for the whole day, ebony jewelwing damsels
It's a good place to live, I think. There's always something new.