1. Fuck turkey! That's right, I said it! Fajitas for Thanksgiving, woohoo!
2. After doctor + groceries/pharmacy I am beat to hell again backwise and will be struggling to sit in a chair for the next week so expect more limited progress on the edit.
3. That said, do feel like it's shaping up nicely and we're about 1/3 of the way through it. Actually, it's such a comprehensive edit this time around that I don't think I need my "character" edit and will be skipping it. Also as stated before Evelyn POV does not bleed into everything as much as KH, so easier that way. I actually find writing Miss Strange easier than either Tyson (who makes my anxiety flare) or Vicky (way way too happy, plus EVERYTHING with Welfs is like fifty layers of politics deep so every comment or line of dialogue is this massive minefield). Maybe even Darth Eva too. Evelyn is...done with this shit and YOUR shit and ALL the shit, especially as we find her in this novel-lite. Which nicely matches my mood at the moment...
3. Better second X-Ray found thoracic scoliosis with 20% curvature in my spine. Don't know the cause yet. Wasn't there when I was a kid. Could just be the weight for so long. Also had a nasty fall in the bathroom 6 to 8 years ago. Of course there's also the Betrothal story about me falling out of the car (oh yeah, true story!) only like I said, not there in childhood so doubt it was that. Could be the weight loss not helping, since the bones and muscles and ligaments are getting all moved about and really sensitive, but...
4. So...MRI, CT Scan, and an Orthopedic consultation are in my near future as long as insurance agrees. Doc is worried about possible nerve damage and the like, herniated discs and all that. Joy! Guess I'll keep downing Tylenol and bathing in Biofreeze for awhile yet.
5. But at least I don't feel as crazy as I did having these symptoms no one seemed to know why I had, so that's good.
6. 3 books came out yesterday I want to read, like my To Be Read pile isn't big enough already! Granted the one plus of not being able to use a gaming controller is that I spend a lot more time reading and AM actually finishing a book a week once again, miracle of miracles! Granted the new Outlander novel is probably 20,000 pages so...might take longer.
7. Finally did some movie watching. Shang Chi was great. Raya and the Last Dragon was...weirdly similar and worse for the comparison. Also made for 12 year old girls who read nothing but YA novels. Which...fine if you're a 12 year old girl, they should have things they like, but...I am not one, so...that with the comparison made Raya a pretty poor two hours of my time.
Was thinking about it and the best way to describe Shang Chi is to call it the best Star Wars since Force Awakens (which had world-building problems, but we had hope in those days, before the dark days, before the Subverted Expectations Crisis). Anyway, family saga, mom believing in the light, father pulled toward the dark, Father vs Son, Brother and Sister reuniting, great evil that wants to be released and suck people's soul/force out...totally works as a Star Wars movie. With some amazingly shot fight scenes.
8. Okay, back has had enough, going to lie down and read. Enjoy your family and friends, eat up, and dodge the Rona!
11/27 Update: 85/203. Very much a novel at this point, if another smaller one.
11/30 Update: 105/209. Halfway there. Again, sucks how difficult and painful this is due to the back being a bastard, and how slow it's going compared to the 20 hour edit hell sessions I wish I could put in, but we are making progress.
12/1 Update: 120/213.
12/3 Update: 141/218. It keeps getting bigger, it's gonna eat me!!!
Going to have smoked turkey fowl here ourselves- but I make no judgments about anyone else's choices. Except sweet potatoes- the people who eat them are okay- but the... orange muck footballs are... bad.
ReplyDeleteGood on the editing. And also, still liking Doc Strange for a main POV. She was always vivid in the school stories and even more in Three Little Trips.
Had (have) scoliosis since I was ... 14? And got to wear a Milwaukee brace for 3 years of junior high and high school- and teeth braces. Wasn't THAT fun for an already socially inept and confidence-challenged adolescent?
Reading consists of working back through previous reads by different favorites (because I am cheap).
Have a great Thanksgiving, Boss. Read and rest and eat and watch shows/movies that make you happy.
As long as you are editing more than you are adding- I think it will be okay. Unless you then have to edit your adds, during which process more gets added, and then....
ReplyDeleteGoing to shut up now.
Generally the third draft is neutral and the fourth draft cuts 10%+. A lot of this is just adding to the scenery, clarifying a plot point/magic element/who's speaking, or putting in a character thought/joke. The first five pages did get rewritten and I'm iffy on the last few pages as well, so we'll see about that.
DeleteIt's also worse this time around because usually I write in waves jumping between a couple timelines or projects with readthroughs/edits every time I jump and instead I wrote all of this in one go, so it is completely virgin material from page one on.
What are the 3 books you've been waiting For? Tell us, we need to know!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the ongoing med issues. 😬
There was a new Ilona Andrews novella called "Fated Blades" which was okay, the new Outlander novel "Something Bees Something Scottish Noises" which I'm halfway through since it's a chonker, and the Sanderson novel "Cytonic" which finishes up his Skyward Flight trilogy which is next on the list, probably after I reread book 2 since I read it while in surgery recovering and don't remember much. Also since he's Sanderson (and is likely not one man but is instead a group of hive mind robots sent from the future) there's a new trio of co-written novellas surrounding that book I also need to read.
DeleteThen I finally get to read a new Steven Erikson Malazan book for the first time in a decade and THEN I need to reread Abercrombie and check out his new trilogy AND THEN I need reread the second Hobb Fitz trilogy for the first time in 2 decades and check out the 3rd trilogy, AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN!!!
Assuming my back starts working better there will also be writing taking place...but I've been stuck in bed for the past two days yet again so BLARG!!!
I was afraid you were going to include either the Harbinger PI or Alex Verus "final" books in their respective series which have just been published after a year of waiting, both are absolutely dreadful, complete shit and a far cry from how they both started out.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your back, I have a slipped/ prolapsed disc, absolute agony sometimes, I know how bad back pain can be, the only thing that helps me at all when I've done it in again is Naproxen, which is prescription only here in England and doctors give it out like it's them who are paying for it...😡 Easy to be relaxed about pain when it's not them suffering it.🤬🤬🤬
All the best for a speedy recovery,
J