The lazy person's guide to editing

A very early blog - for which apologies, but we're off for the Glyndebourne experience at midday - seeing "La Cenerentola" (ie Cinderella) with Ruth from work and her husband, Douglas. Managed to pack the crockery, cutlery, napkins, glasses, candles, sellotape (for putting the table together), etc etc last night, plus iron the tablecloth, send Lord H to the house cellar to fetch the table and its accompanying legs (hence the sellotape ...) and remember to put the champagne, water and fruit juice in the fridge, and sort out the ice box. Phew! Oh, and I ironed Lord H's dress shirt as well, but have advised him to do a re-iron this morning, as my ironing skills are crap. I blame my mother, you know. Don't I always?...

Anyway, this morning, thus far, I have added one word to "The Bones of Summer" - "up", if you're interested and, yes, it is for one of the sex scenes. Believe me, in context, up is good!! I've also removed one-and-a-half lines from my poem, "Parakeets" (thanks, Jools, for the tip!). So when I publish my "Lazy Person's Guide to Editing" - which will include such gems as how adding one word can change a whole chapter, and removing a line can alter a poem forever, plus the trick of making your font smaller to make publishers think you're a star at the cutting game - I hope it will be a bestseller. At least amongst writers.

Might have time to ring mother later as well - you never know! If so, it'll have to be this morning, as I certainly won't have time post the opera tonight. And a "school night" too - shame there's no lie-in possible tomorrow ...

I haven't forgotten Sunday's haiku though. Here it is. Bizarrely, I've been thinking about tomatoes. Hell, maybe I ought to get out more.

Little tomatoes:
haikus on the tongue. Large ones:
sagas sailing home.

Today's nice things:

1. Gentle editing
2. Glyndebourne
3. Haikus.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website