Thursday, August 09, 2007

The long-haul editor

Ye gods, but editing The Gifting is one hell of a slog. Probably because there's 125,000 words of it rather than my usual 70,000. I have literally spent all day glued to my computer, though I did have a break for lunch. Pasta and fish, if you're asking. Wheat-free pasta too - it's marvellous. Oh, and I did fetch the post from downstairs too, but none of it was for me. Bugger.

Anyway, I am adding in a second voice to the novel (I am making it longer, dammit - what joy!) as I think it gives it context. And I do so love that essential Greek chorus effect. Ho hum. And I am giving Simon some more witty lines. I think he's enjoying them. It's his ultimate defence against the dark, you know. And, yes, these things were mentioned in the TLC (spit! sorry, that just came out - couldn't help myself ...) report amidst the condescension and negativity, so at least I am gleaning something from the wreckage. However, the more I go through and edit the darn thing, the more I think the report writer just didn't "get" it. Yeah, yeah, the ultimate writer's defence (God, but I need some of Simon's witty lines myself) and blah blah we've heard it all before, but I think there's a grain of truth in my general hissy-fitness. But, hell, what do I know? Maybe it is just shite.

Other news of today: Pirbright now seems to be the centre of Legionnaire's Disease, as well as the heart of Foot & Mouth - so Lord H has taken to using another route for work. Just in case. If I were you, I wouldn't come to Surrey for a while. If you were planning to. We're obviously in the middle of some national quarantine zone. I expect to be given a funny suit and a ration pack any day now.

Tonight, I am carrying on with Simon's witty repartee in the midst of disaster and death (how like the home life of our own dear Queen) and watching the odd comedy on TV. Whilst doing the ironing. My, how I love to multi-task.

Today's nice things:

1. Editing
2. Thinking maybe that TLC might (just might, mind you ...) be wrong
3. TV.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website

5 comments:

Cathy said...

Goodness, how many pages does 125,000 words work out at? I thought I was being ambitious aiming for the standard 80-85k novel!

Cx

Anne Brooke said...

Just over 400 A4 double-spaced pages at the moment - yikes!!!

==:O

A
xxx

Anonymous said...

Well done for the award! I'll go and check out Cathy's blog.

It's really sad news about the foot and mouth isn't it? Especially when the farmers have done what they were supposed to and it appears to have happened outside of their control.

Sue xx

Jackie Luben said...

I think you're doing the right thing, Anne. With any critique, you have to extract from it what you think is correct and act upon it - and for the rest of it, you must go on your own gut feeling, because it is your book and your voice.

I regularly do this with feedback at GW - particularly when there is conflicting advice. It just proves that people have differing views about things.

By the way, other than closing off the footpaths, Pirbright is still surviving. They haven't locked me in my house yet. And as far as people who work at Pirbright are concerned, my experience of them is that they are very security conscious.

Anne Brooke said...

Thanks, Sue & Jackie - yes I do agree about the editing thing. And it's worrying about the F&M - glad we don't have to drop food parcels to you yet, Jackie ...

==:O

A
xxx