Sunday, November 19, 2006

Entering Edits

Oh, it's a tedious job, this entering edits. It seems like it's taking forever. Am I going off on tangents to avoid the final, scary moment when I pass it off for publication? Probably. Because no matter how careful you are, no matter how many "pairs of eyes" look at it, it'll never be perfect, and you can never, EVER, please everyone. But it gets a little discouraging when, halfway through the edits, you realize that you've used the word "like" incorrectly in a few places, and way too many places in general, and you start wondering how many other bad habits you have that maybe the editor and reviewers WON'T catch -- but the reviewers will.

Still, you plug on. And occasionally you run across something that you particularly like, something that feels good to read, and you think that maybe the book isn't worthless after all.

And so, I leave you with a little teaser from the book. Have a great Thanksgiving and I hope to report more progress after the holiday.

Here's the quote:

She could feel the vibrations in her breastbone,
her throat, her life. She felt breathless, as if
she were poised high on a mountain, one foot out,
ready for a step across the wide unknown.

She could almost feel the cool mist of the high
clouds across her face and the heat of the sun on
her scalp. She was soaring, yet standing still,
frozen in that moment of boundlessness, life
stretching before her.

Months later she would recognize this image as she
laid down the tarot card representing the past:
The Fool.

(Copyright 2005-6 Morven Westfield)


Have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving,
Morven

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