Printed out what I had of this chapter and gave it a solid edit. Easier on my back, but takes a lot longer this way. Though its a lot funnier seeing pages covered with red pen than doing everything on the computer. Maybe I'll take a photo of one and upload it for you lot, so you can see the absurdity yourselves.
New version of the chapter is much better, really like it. Great humor, hits some more important character points. Once I get back to it that will take up to the midway point of the novel. We just went over 400 manuscript pages or about 110k words. Technically, I suppose I could release it as its own novel, but you'd hate it since it doesn't really have an ending. I mean, it would, since there's a key event at that point, but there would be no resolution whatsoever for our plot lines. It'd be like just reading the FM5 school story as its own book. Pretty frustrating, I imagine. I got complaints about the FM5 school story as it was, back when people couldn't instantly get the conclusion in FM6. This would be about ten times worse.
This week is getting destroyed by doctor appointments, but after August I (so far) have September and the first half of October completely free. The second burnination might be a go in October, so that might change. Of course, if it does happen and it works as well as the first one did, then my work pace could drastically improve!
But for now, I'm just trying to get through the heat and the doctors and then we have 30 clear days to chill out. Although, it's Fresno, so it will still probably be like 98 degrees even in September...
As for entertainment...I read two more Naomi Novik novels, "Spinning Silver" and "Uprooted". Preferred "Uprooted". Great read. "Spinning Silver" had some great ideas too, but it has multiple first person POVs that gets really funky at times, and some of the end is from POVs that are very passive and only added near the back half and I found it frustrating. If you're going to read any of her work, I'd still point you towards Scholomance, but Uprooted is just a small step behind.
Watched The Bear, very good. Will give you anxiety like no other show I've ever seen. I don't usually recommend anime because I know its not many people's cup of tea, but Summertime Rendering is very much worth a watch. It's in DisneyPlus/Hulu jail, but it's a complete story with only the one season and it's a fantastic ride that I can't really tell you about without spoiling the many, many moments of WTF and Holy Fuckballs. I suppose I can say that both the heroes and the villains are gloriously intelligent and constantly one up each other in a way that normal living, breathing people would. They figure things out and then they use it to totally screw you over. There is an English dub for people who absolutely can't handle subs, no idea if it's any good however.
GOTG 3 great, Secret Invasion stanky balls...
And of course: THE PREM IS BACK!!!
Because I am old... and also because I tended to do a lot of my early writing while working at my "day job" (i.e.- what I was actually getting paid for)... my work is in a stack of spiral notebooks (banana paper FTW!) and is in 3 or 4 different colors of ink, with boxes and circles and helpful notes like "Fix this" or "More here". So I can empathize with your editing on printed copy.... But even with all the marks (green in my case, and English instructor trick I picked up from somewhere), it can be encouraging to actually SEE a physical manifestation of your words. Those stacks of paper at least FEEL impressive.
ReplyDeleteStill working on book 4 of "my stuff". Slowly. Allowed myself to get pulled into the black hole of "hey, maybe design your own covers! It will be fun!" Um... yes. Except for the part about "Try 2 or 3 different freeware, web-based programs, none of which do QUITE what I want, only to break down and admit that my wife the artist is right, and THIS program will do what you need."
Reading- Incryptid series (again) by Seanan McGuire. Will probably begin a KH marathon soon.
Promoting books is hard! Esp. if you are cheap. But- we ARE approaching the magic number of double digits! Woo-hoo! Almost more actual sales than author copies. (So, RR, you are in the top 10 of buyers!)
Watching- Usual Anaconda River British (and Walter TV) cop shows, plus "Justified: City Primeval". Looking forward to second seasons of "Dark Winds" and "Reacher."
Good luck with all the medical and with the heat.
.....so am I just weird for liking the FM5 school story by itself? Pretty much every split story has its own appeal to me. By that I mean the school and the post school stories. It's fun seeing them side by side, but I also find the different characterization interesting.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily. It's just a percentage of reviews for FM5 brought up that they didn't feel like the school side kept up with the mainline and that it didn't feel like a full story (like FM3's or FM4's did) so that's what I was noting. It wasn't a majority opinion, but it's one I saw multiple times.
DeleteThe school stories get harder to write as they go, because the mainline continues to up the stakes and as more is revealed about the past in the mainline its impossible to really surprise anyone with revelations. One complaint prevalent with FM6's school story was that it was obvious it was Isabel. Which...wasn't supposed to be a surprise really, but...whatever...
This is exactly why "War to End All Wars" is wrapping up that timeline. Would have already wrapped up that timeline years ago if the back didn't implode!