The Girdle of Melian

Just in time to celebrate the end of my resolution not to buy any more books, comes notice that JK Rowling's Beedle the Bard will be made available to all of us who didn't have the millions to bid on the original last year. Now, what other books should I get to qualify for free shipping? :-)

Now I know what Jenny meant! I've been revising and editing for over a week now, and can't seem to get past Chapter 6 - every time I look at the MS, there's more places to cut and more vocabulary to fine-tune. With the dreaded Q word hanging over my head, I'm trying to make sure my first 6 pages (not 3! not 5!) will at least make others ask "what happens next?" I've also got a short list of agents! Thank you, AgentQuery.com. I sure hope it doesn't matter that all these agents are in far-flung parts of the US and not a single one is in Canada. I also borrowed Jenny's title, since it's a Manic Street Preachers song :-)

Still progressing - I've sort of stuck in the middle of Chapter 4, but at least I'm doing steady work, by which I mean at least three to four pages per day. Tht's the reread. Next comes fixing dialect and topical references. Then looking for imagery and theme - anything I can build on. Did I mention that after drafting the template letter for agents, I realised that Austin doesn't have a last name? Well, he doesn't! So I'm working on that too...

6514 of 74314 words edited tonight! Plus, I removed almost all of the notes and comments, inserted text for all the half-finished scene endings, and drafted a query letter. Pretty good week, though I could be doing much more than this. I still need to: Complete a final version of the query Reduce the three-page synopsis to one page Visit the library/bookstore to draw up a list of agents Write the last ten pages Double-check *all* my research notes, etc., in my notebook and on the computer, to make sure I've addressed all comments/hints/tips/facts/dates/names/etc. Keep editing! As my Facebook status said, I need an intern... How is everyone else doing?

Here's a hilarious look at a Font Conference . And here is Pam 's link to a video of Ricky Gervais interviewing Chris Martin of Coldplay . I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's no point watching TV if it's not British. And presenting... When professional cakes go horribly wrong !

I can't believe that the S-word and the Q-word are prominent. I've gotta start blogging about themes more often!

Go see it now ! It's hilarious!

1500 words today! I was thinking of posting a long, dreary blog about how I can't seem to meet my goals, and how I have no motivation otherwise I could be finished by the end of summer, blah blah blah. Kind of like what Jen was describing. And this hilarious post by Libba Bray that she linked to. But then I actually got up at 5.30 this morning, and sat in front of the computer when I came home from work and look - 1500 words! And I'm still writing! This is all the more impressive considering I don't normally draft on the computer. But it does make later editing that much easier, since I don't spend additional hours typing text from my own scrawls. Ahem. Goals. 1. Finish last ten pages! Despite today's word count, I haven't made a dent in this by far. Still another ten pages to go... 2. Really research agents, instead of randomly surfing the internet. Ha! Haven't done this! 3. Clean up synopsis and start on query letter. Okay, I've got my long synopsis ...

From Wordle , for The Face of A Lion: Love the names!

Here are the comprehensive goals for this summer: 1. Finish last ten pages! 2. Really research agents, instead of randonly surfing the internet. 3. Clean up synopsis and start on query letter. I just figured out why this query process is no fun - too much like a job hunt. Brrr. Job hunts. Nasty things. But I'm happy to report that the synopsis is DONE! And I've gotten started on the query letter. A night at the library looms... As for the plug: if you're a writer and haven't yet visited Jo Bourne's blog (never mind the Compuserve Books and Writers Community as well!), what are you waiting for? The best advice, the funniest stories, and some real inspiration awaits!

...that I was a snail. It all started on a cliff-edge in Turkey, where my dad and sister and I had gone to see the Stanley Cup (because the Canadiens had won!) and take some photos. On the way back, from the car, I saw a cave. Or rather, there was an interesting fort-like cave, and beside it was a large overhanging rock that hid the entrance to another cavern. A tabby cat and a siamese-type cat lived in the crevices of the fort, and came out once in a while to chase dogs and have fun. Then I was a snail that lived in the cool darkness of the cavern entrance. Oh! I can't begin to describe that coolness. Imagine a very expensive indoor pool, with tiling and marble, no chlorine smell, and lots of leafy green plants keeping the place dim and moist. Not steamy. Just very, very cool. But I had a friend, a snake that lived in the hot, dry grasses that grew above the rock, and he was always trying to get me to come out and play football/soccer with him and the cats. I always refused, rel...

Check it out, over at Trish 's...

Here's another meme... Stolen from Jenny, who stole it from Shaylin, who stole it from Jon, who stole it from Sandy: 1. What’s in your pocket right now? No pockets! 2. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? Yup, in the Aegean Sea at five in the morning. Well, no that’s not true. We (the girls) were wearing bikinis and we took our tops off for a bit. That was it. 3. Did you have a baby blanket? Yup, a woolen quilt sort of thing. My mom still has it. But it was just the blanket on the bed; not a Linus-type blanket. 4. Have you ever tried to cut your own hair? Only bangs probably, when I had them. 5. How did that turn out? Fine. 6. Have you ever sleepwalked? Nope. Talked in my sleep, though. 7. Have you ever had a birthday party at a restaurant? Yup. Once at the bowling alley in third grade, once at McDonald’s (no, that was my sister), once at a Chinese buffet (when I was 12 turning 13) and a couple of years ago at California Pizza. 8. Have you ever eaten a dog biscuit? No. Smelled it.....

Claire 's post came right on the heels of some photos I took at Windsor Station in downtown Montreal.