NewBook is done.\u00a0\u00a0 Three rounds of revision, wrestled to the mat on space, time, person, place, etc. issues.\u00a0 From here on out it’s nitpicking time because it’s DONE.<\/p>\n
172,125 words, counting chapter titles, datelines (actually places, mostly), 31 chapters (may need some chapters numbered differently, that’s an editorial decision I’d take advice on.)<\/p>\n
It’s a book with characters ranging from 12 to (if you count Dragon), umpty-thousand-something.\u00a0\u00a0 Mostly in the range of 18-80-something.\u00a0 (I do not know how old Count Vladi is and I am not asking HIM.)\u00a0 There were brief cameo appearances by people from that universe I did not expect.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In book time it covers from the Pass to Valdaire opening in spring to not very long after it closes in autumn.\u00a0\u00a0 Some people did of age and infirmity and some people die of greed, stupidity, stubborness, rage, fortunes of war, or straight up accidents.\u00a0 Some people get sick because other people cough and sneeze without covering their noses and mouths and some people die becasuse they look up at the wrong moment.\u00a0\u00a0 The early hints of violence in the book are overshadowed by one humonguous week-long (OK, ALMOST week-long) battle toward the end. It has my personal requirements for a great movie (swords, galloping horses, beautiful scenery, great music.)\u00a0 (You have to listen to the music yourself.\u00a0 Preferably sung a capella by a Welsh male choir. )<\/p>\n
So what else.<\/p>\n
It still needs polishing.\u00a0 I discovered AFTER sending it off to my agent that it’s got one of the chapters in there *twice* in two different versions.\u00a0 No, that is not professional.\u00a0 That is SLOPPY.\u00a0 I’m appalled at myself but it’s been over FOUR FREAKIN’ YEARS since I’ve been able to finish a book and could not wait.<\/p>\n
You get a snippet.\u00a0\u00a0 Tork and Bikken are a couple of back-country farm boys of a certain disposition familiar to country people.\u00a0\u00a0 Although they can be trouble in some situations, in other situations their attitudes can come in handy.<\/p>\n
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..<\/p>\n
Behind him he heard a yell of outrage, then one of fear and pain.\u00a0 “Look out!” he yelled.\u00a0 “Fire!”\u00a0 Everyone looked around, and Tork ran back to the wagon, straight at the sentry holding a torch.\u00a0 “Look out!\u00a0 Danger!\u00a0 Don’t let it–” and knocked the torch out of the man’s hand, while slugging him in the ear on the other side.\u00a0 Then he applied the torch to the areas of wagon he’d spilled the fire-start on.<\/p>\n
It flared at once.\u00a0 “NO!” Tork yelled.\u00a0 “Look out!\u00a0 It’ll set the tents on fire!\u00a0 Water! Water!”<\/p>\n
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….<\/p>\n
Meanwhile back at the tunnel….the sergeant addresses those in the tunnel<\/p>\n
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….<\/p>\n
“They’ll definitely attack the tower.\u00a0 We’ll defend it as much as we can without much if any losses; we need every one of you.\u00a0 But it will go, and then we will be depending on each of you, and every civilian old enough and heavy enough to pack in behind you and push in rhythm when I call the cadence.\u00a0 Got that?”<\/p>\n
They stared at him.\u00a0 His own men, with the steady, straight look he knew so well, and the volunteers and the others now in the tunnel, with a sort of blank wonder, like cows over a fence staring at something in the next field.<\/p>\n
“Just like we practiced,” Regar said.\u00a0 “It’ll be just like we practiced.\u00a0 I’ll be there, reminding you.”\u00a0\u00a0 It was never just like practice.\u00a0 It couldn’t be.\u00a0 There was practice, and there was combat and they were completely different.<\/p>\n
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….<\/p>\n
Keeping in mind that snippets may or may not end up in the book proper, because any given editor can decide to change something…<\/p>\n
R- is now reading the manuscript in its present state which is looking less perfect any time I glance at it.\u00a0 He’s well into it and says it’s holding together.\u00a0\u00a0 DRW has read it, or most of it.\u00a0 It’s also with LM, and tomorrow I’ll finish reading it aloud to Rancherfriend E.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NewBook is done.\u00a0\u00a0 Three rounds of revision, wrestled to the mat on space, time, person, place, etc. issues.\u00a0 From here on out it’s nitpicking time because it’s DONE. 172,125 words, counting chapter titles, datelines (actually places, mostly), 31 chapters (may need some chapters numbered differently, that’s an editorial decision I’d take advice on.) It’s a Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,32,29,28,10],"tags":[55,30,7],"class_list":["post-1381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paksworld","category-progress","category-revision","category-snippet","category-the-writing-life","tag-paksworld-universe","tag-revision","tag-the-writing-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1381"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1382,"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1381\/revisions\/1382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/elizabethmoon.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}