Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rewriting... Or a Contractual Collision

What we have below is two page layout views of the first few chapters of Book 3 (those who know MS Word will know what this is, which is probably most of you). The first is Draft 1, the second Draft 2 with all the changes tracked in red.

ADDENDUM as of 1/7/9 ~

WELL... the above is what you would have seen, but a contractual issue back o' house has me now removing said images - though they were diagrammatic and illegible - from the public space.

For those who saw them and were edified by them, glad to be of encouragement.

For those who did not, well, wow, they were the most spectacular things you will ever behold in your span of years upon this planet... there was certainly a lot of red on them anyway. You will be able to see them again once Book 3 is out... in a little while...

Apologies to my publishers for my careless enthusiasm to share.

Sorry folks, more normal transmissions will resume in their usual erratic manner.

Happy New Financial Year, btw.

22 comments:

noelle said...

Holy moses. That's a lot of red.

(I don't normally say holy moses, but I've wanted to for a while).

Botarre: A collection of unusual plants.

tanita✿davis said...

The page! It bleeeeds! (Said in a breathy Igor voice.

Good grief. I don't actually like LOOKING at my past revisions, but fortunately my editor uses green, so she doesn't freak me out.

And then it bleeds alien blood. Which is somehow not better.

Prouncen: a foyer at the back of a grammar and language school building.

Sarah Stevenson said...

This is both frightening and reassuring, as I embark on a major revision...

R.J. Anderson said...

You are my hero. Or at least you have made me feel a lot better about my own revision process, which amounts to the same thing.

*squints vainly at text in an attempt to read just one... little... line...*

Zakk said...

woah. umm. yeah. fun stuff, editing huh?

Personally, i don't think authors edit enough. In J.K. Rowling's Half blood prince, in the first sentence of one of the chapters it says - "the misty fug".

Fog Joanne! Fog!

D.M. Cornish said...

Umm... actually "fug" is a word - I happen to use it myself.

Emily Z said...

Fug: "A heavy, stale atmosphere, especially the musty air of an overcrowded or poorly ventilated room"

A misty fog would be a little redundant.

D.M. Cornish said...

Ahh... I love the English language. (Of course, ask me again in about an hour)

And yes, Ms Honey, you pronunciation of our young bumbling self-doubting protagonist is correct.

My varificatiob word is "expat" which I think needs to be changed in meaning to: "cow dung that has resigned such a role and gone on to wider pastures."

Zakk said...

ah wooooo (lano + woodley fans will understand)

FUG? It just doesn't sound right. make sure you use it in factotum so i can see it used again.

Klesita said...

I can imagine Ms Rowling writing fug, her editor changing it to fog, she re-writing it again and back and forth on and on and on... pretty annoying or hilarious depending on who you are.

I managed to get a glimpse at your edits and yep they were pretty red... don't you love the editing process?

D.M. Cornish said...

When it is flowing, most definitely; when it is not I'd rather be a banker...

James T said...

I like the word 'fug' too - it's almost as good as 'conniption'!!

Hey Dave I'm sure the editing is for the best, even though it must be more severe & rigorous than you would ideally like...

But for what it is worth, we readers love LONG books - the adventure lasts longer and is deeper and more enthralling, so don't cut too much ok!! Paolini & Rowling do it, and so can you!!!
(publisher notwithstanding!!)
JT

noelle said...

I've heard "fug" used as "ugly" or "bizarre" in regards to fashion. Also, "fugacity" is apparently a word, and a pretty awesome word too, meaning fleeting or evanescent.

One of my favorite words is "defenestrate," meaning "to throw something out of a window."

Aunkin: a boil or lump on the skin which has become disturbingly large and inflamed and captivates the horrified attention of anyone who sees it.

Emily Z said...

Noelle, I believe you may be referring to a variant of "fugly", which is a conglomeration of "f*cking ugly". But I could be wrong. :)


And Mr. Cornish, it was not I who asked how to pronounce dear Rosey's name, although I do pronounce it correctly. :)

Klesita said...

Hi Noelle,

Fugacity comes from the latin fuga. You have derivations of this word it in all romance languages. 'Fuga' in Spanish is to run away or flee. In music a fugue is when you have several 'voices' or sounds repeating variations of the same piece of music almost one on top of the other building up just like in Bohemia rhapsody.

A BANKER!!! There are plenty of those all over the place and these days they are not faring too good either. Keep writing, we need Rosamund, Europa and all the others.

monday said...

a banker?
and then work your way up to lion taming?

Jena said...

I'm sorry to have missed it! I'll have to check back for re-posting, eh? I know a lot of people who want to publish books who don't believe their writing needs revision (and nor do they want to hire an editor).

D.M. Cornish said...

Indeed, Jena. Two falacies I have heard other want-to-be published writers offer are,

a/ that the first thing you write is usually the best. Certainly has not been my experience; a good sentence will often need to be worked and reworked... but then again perhaps I do not share their talent...

b/ that thesaurus are bad. I agree they can be terribly misused (guilty of that myself), but no person possesses enough of the language in their head and I constantly find there is a point when I get weary of using the same word over and over and need to find an alternative. I recommend looking up any synonyms in the dictionary first though, so that you use them properly.

intho = something that is extremely hip and now. "That jacket is just so intho..."

Zakk said...

nearly a hundred followers, D.M., nearly!

Anna said...

I MISSED IT! I can´t believe I missed those posted pages of book 3. 10 months until I get to read the book! This is pure torture!

Well, my excuse is lots of bad stuff had to be dealt with. My brain has been in hold-mode.

When are we starting that story-thing here on this site? It seems it itches in more than one persons fingers to write and create something. Or it was just an suggestion?

Anna said...

Oh, by the way..has anyone seen the movie The Fall? What beautiful coulors and such imaginative costumes. The story is a bit messy but sweet. But I didn´t like the end cause it felt unfinished.

noelle said...

Anna-

I LOVE THAT MOVIE! It was gorgeous. Yes the ending was a little unsatisfying but a lot of independent movies are like that, they don't spell everything out for you or try to wrap everything up in a neat little bow. That's why I like them!