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pameladeanOkay, for reasons I don't want to go into, but that involve my extremely neurotic relationship with Open Office, I ended up with considerably more words than I should have, when all was cut and done. A hysterical email to my long-suffering editor produced the simple remark that I should take whatever time I needed to cut what I could, because it was better for me to do it.
It has been agreed that November 1 would be a nice time to have the book in.
I need to think of one more major structural alteration to get that many more words out. I am concentrating on the beginning of the book at the moment because my books tend to wind up slowly and then rush to a conclusion. I will check out the end, too, but I think there's less scope there. I have a lot of ideas for cutting words in batches of 500 to 1000 or so, and there's a somewhat startling amount that can still be line-edited without losing flavor, but I can't say I'm exactly sanguine about the situation. It's very educational, though. Really exceedingly educational.
Having settled who would cut what and, maybe, by when, I went off to Conjecture, the Minn-Stf Fallcon.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
timprov made sure the con suite had Pamela-friendly food in it, which I appreciated so, so much. I missed a lot of the interesting-sounding programming, because jiawen had brought a telescope and set it up on the parking deck both evenings. There was a lot of horrible ambient light, but the actual seeing was wonderful. The only other time I've seen the moon or planets through a telescope, they jumped around as if they were playing dodgeball. We looked at the moon, which was unexpectedly delightful. As it does during an eclipse, it looked completely three-dimensional rather than as if it had been pasted up against the sky. The terminator was raggedy. The very edge showed the small points of mountains. We also looked at Jupiter and its Galilean satellites. On Friday, Io was making a transit, so we saw its dim shadow; on Saturday, all [three] four were visible like beads on a transparent string. We also looked at the Pleiades, the double cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus, the Andromeda Galaxy, and Uranus. On Saturday after a lot of work jiawen and Ctein and arkuat found M13, the globular cluster in Hercules, after which we looked at [the Ring Nebula], though it was pretty faint. I had conflated the Hercules cluster with the Ring Nebula, since they were both faint, faint patches of light. However, as was pointed out to me at the time, before I spaced it, so to speak, you can tell that the Ring Nebula is a doughnut.
I also went on the traditional nature walk, with Eric and many of the usual suspects: Ctein, Dean, Laura, Lisa, and some new additions, notably Jeanne and Linda. No Timprov or Josh this year, alas. The trails near the Minnesota River were flooded, so we backtracked and did a steep half-mile loop near the visitor center. Jeanne who might or might not be on LJ discovered the bird feeders there, and we stood inside and watched nuthatches, chickadees, a scruffy young male cardinal, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and house sparrows scuffle for food. There were some fat squirrels who seemed to be tunnelling under the feeder poles to bring the whole apparatus down, and a very fat thirteen-lined ground squirrel. On our way out, Ctein found a couple of ice sculptures of owls. We thought maybe the wedding party we'd noticed had left them, but the sculptor turned up. He was exhibiting his photography at the center, and also works as a chef at the Hilton nearby, and the owls were part of his promotional effort.
On Sunday was the memorial for Reen, which could have used a much larger room, but went very well. We sang "The Green Hills of Earth." Reen's entire family can sing, and so could much of the rest of the gathering. Then we went to the Courts of Chaos for the rest of the memorial. Eric and I missed the planting of the tree because of logistical complications, but I did stay, with David and Lydy, until three a.m. I got to talk to Eileen, and heard a lot of songs I haven't heard for years and years. There was much food and much hugging.
Eric has some time off work, so we are going to Winona for the last bit of fall color, and to look at the driftless area. I am making a lot of notes about the book, and expect my icon to be particularly appropriate until November 1.
Pamela
Edited to correct stupid errors in astronomy. This book is really truly eating my brain.
It has been agreed that November 1 would be a nice time to have the book in.
I need to think of one more major structural alteration to get that many more words out. I am concentrating on the beginning of the book at the moment because my books tend to wind up slowly and then rush to a conclusion. I will check out the end, too, but I think there's less scope there. I have a lot of ideas for cutting words in batches of 500 to 1000 or so, and there's a somewhat startling amount that can still be line-edited without losing flavor, but I can't say I'm exactly sanguine about the situation. It's very educational, though. Really exceedingly educational.
Having settled who would cut what and, maybe, by when, I went off to Conjecture, the Minn-Stf Fallcon.
timprov made sure the con suite had Pamela-friendly food in it, which I appreciated so, so much. I missed a lot of the interesting-sounding programming, because jiawen had brought a telescope and set it up on the parking deck both evenings. There was a lot of horrible ambient light, but the actual seeing was wonderful. The only other time I've seen the moon or planets through a telescope, they jumped around as if they were playing dodgeball. We looked at the moon, which was unexpectedly delightful. As it does during an eclipse, it looked completely three-dimensional rather than as if it had been pasted up against the sky. The terminator was raggedy. The very edge showed the small points of mountains. We also looked at Jupiter and its Galilean satellites. On Friday, Io was making a transit, so we saw its dim shadow; on Saturday, all [three] four were visible like beads on a transparent string. We also looked at the Pleiades, the double cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus, the Andromeda Galaxy, and Uranus. On Saturday after a lot of work jiawen and Ctein and arkuat found M13, the globular cluster in Hercules, after which we looked at [the Ring Nebula], though it was pretty faint. I had conflated the Hercules cluster with the Ring Nebula, since they were both faint, faint patches of light. However, as was pointed out to me at the time, before I spaced it, so to speak, you can tell that the Ring Nebula is a doughnut. I also went on the traditional nature walk, with Eric and many of the usual suspects: Ctein, Dean, Laura, Lisa, and some new additions, notably Jeanne and Linda. No Timprov or Josh this year, alas. The trails near the Minnesota River were flooded, so we backtracked and did a steep half-mile loop near the visitor center. Jeanne who might or might not be on LJ discovered the bird feeders there, and we stood inside and watched nuthatches, chickadees, a scruffy young male cardinal, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and house sparrows scuffle for food. There were some fat squirrels who seemed to be tunnelling under the feeder poles to bring the whole apparatus down, and a very fat thirteen-lined ground squirrel. On our way out, Ctein found a couple of ice sculptures of owls. We thought maybe the wedding party we'd noticed had left them, but the sculptor turned up. He was exhibiting his photography at the center, and also works as a chef at the Hilton nearby, and the owls were part of his promotional effort.
On Sunday was the memorial for Reen, which could have used a much larger room, but went very well. We sang "The Green Hills of Earth." Reen's entire family can sing, and so could much of the rest of the gathering. Then we went to the Courts of Chaos for the rest of the memorial. Eric and I missed the planting of the tree because of logistical complications, but I did stay, with David and Lydy, until three a.m. I got to talk to Eileen, and heard a lot of songs I haven't heard for years and years. There was much food and much hugging.
Eric has some time off work, so we are going to Winona for the last bit of fall color, and to look at the driftless area. I am making a lot of notes about the book, and expect my icon to be particularly appropriate until November 1.
Pamela
Edited to correct stupid errors in astronomy. This book is really truly eating my brain.
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no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 07:35 pm (UTC)i wish someone would set up a telescope near me ;-) .
no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 07:53 pm (UTC)It was very good to see you this weekend, even if I was somewhat distracted!
I'm increasingly curious to see what sort of creature this book will be in comparison with your others (and of course I'm looking forward to reading it for itself as well), and I wish that it may go well for you.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-21 02:33 am (UTC)I am glad to hear Reen got such a good send off. I can only imagine.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-23 06:48 pm (UTC)Pan on the stove and pot on the hook,
Pamela's shortening the long-awaited book.
It's hot in the kitchen and the cook is cross,
But Pamela is showing the book who's boss.
Chop and flour, season and fry,
We'll get that book done by and by.
It'll be the best you ever had,
But only if we don't drive Pamela mad.
Pamela's fans love fantasy, fantasy,
Pamela's fans love fantasy books.
Pamela's fans love fantasy, fantasy,
Pamela's fans wantasy that book.