Paksworld

I’d been struggling with a chapter–and specifically the first scene in that chapter–for weeks, off and on, in and around others.    It’s pivotal to a very important plotline and also to the chronological tangle previously  mentioned.   I’ve rewritten it.  I’ve written completely new versions, not looking at the old one.  I’ve cut and pasted…cut and not pasted…moved things, ripped things out, added stuff…and nothing was quite right.  Today it began to make more sense (well, I understand what it has to do better, maybe) but something was still missing.  Finally, the missing detail was outlined for me  (X needs to have found/be holding Y), but what the heck was Y?

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A:  When you get another email offering you a fantastic idea for a novel because the idea person admits to not being able to/wanting to/having time to write it, but is sure you could do it and then the two of you could split the no-doubt-substantial money.

It doesn’t work that way.   But some people still think it does…or could.  And there’s no polite way to explain (I’ve tried, with those who’ve caught me in person.)

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As some of you with an interest in publishing news already have heard,  NightShade Books is in the process of a potential acquisition.   NightShade published my short fiction collection Moon Flights.   The acquisition hangs on the percentage of Night Shade authors who agree to substantial contractual changes in existing contracts;  the terms are beneficial to writers only in that they may prevent works being dragged into the endless whirlpool of NightShade’s predicted declaration of bankruptcy.

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A listserv I’m on mentioned that a member had published a review of Game of Thrones in a major market,  so I wandered over to look.    Here’s the link: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=1543&fulltext=1&media=#article-text-cutpoint

I was impressed with the review on several counts, but the one I want to bring up here is the way other reviewers, critics, and readers talk about characterization, especially in the area of morality/ethics and spirituality.  This isn’t about GRRM’s books, per se, but about a way of looking at all books, and considering how a writer’s view of reality affects how that writer constructs characters.   Right now–in the review cited and in other writing about Game of Thrones–Martin epitomizes one particular view of reality, history, and human nature.    Tolkein is often cited as his opposite. Thus it’s important to use language appropriate to those fundamental views–which Teitelbaum does in her review,  and many others do not.

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Right now, I’m pouring words into the files for Book V, so I’m not keeping up with everything the Punctuation Working Group is doing….trying to check comments and email a few times a day, but not really able to concentrate on anything but stuff I can’t tell you yet.   (I should have been listening to different music…finally thought mixing Smetana’s Bartered Bride first act with Saint-Saens’ symphonies, not Beethoven.  And…it’s galloping.)   I’d forgotten the particular combination of suspense, darkness, and explosive brilliance, in that one in particular…goosebumps.  Lots and lots of goosebumps.   Just what I needed.)

Anyway, my brain’s not in pronunciation right now.   It’s in getting Book V done to “send to editor standard”.

Forgive the inattention after handing over that job, please.

Also–remember that my webmistress wants the output as a .doc, .rtf, or .txt file.  She has her own tricks for making it pretty on the website and says those are an easier starting point than others.   (Also, I can’t read docx or xcl files on my machine, so I can’t look files over before sending them on to her.)

The lights go out here and on the main site at 10 pm, Central Time in the US  (10 minutes)  but should be back on tomorrow.    Have fun.   See you then.

Brilliance, who are working on the new Paksworld audiobooks,  sent me a list of words for help with pronunciation.  And then another list.   Remembering that some time back we had a discussion here (more than one, maybe?) on pronunciation of words from Paksworld,   and other questions I’ve had, I set to work on them.    And kept the list and my attempts at making pronunciation easier on files for myself.    The list has about 140 words/names on it, but they’re not in alphabetical order (in order of appearance in the text, apparently)  and I think there are some duplicates.  Also, it’s not complete, if you go back to the first books: there are names and places and words that aren’t included.

You see where I’m going, I’ll bet.

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Webhost has warned us that things will be nonfunctional on this Friday,  March 22, starting at 10 pm Central Time in the US, and should be back to normal by 6 am Saturday.   No specifics yet on what will be down, which may mean short rolling outages, or everything.     Safer to bet on “everything” and prepare for it.

I suggest games in the extras’ break room (want to make up some interesting and appropriate games this week?)  and serious philosophical and theological and economic discussions in the stars’ private lounge, topics such as “If blue is Gird’s color, and red is Falk’s color, are Girdish more devout because more of them wear blue than Falkians wear red?” or “If making pickles represents an opportunity cost related to the shortage of cucumbers for cucumber sandwiches,  should pickles or cucumbers cost more?” or “If Writer decides to off me in the final volume, do I still get paid through the end of the month?”   Or anything else you can come up with.

Farrier’s coming at 8 am and he’s never late; must go feed horses now.

So…I went in last night to do some late work on the book after supper (which was late)  and after typing away decided it was time to quit.   Whereupon Microsoft Word said (in my phrasing)  “I feel sick and I’m quitting and what you’ve been working on may be lost when I shut down…Too bad, sucker.”

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Because LiveJournal tells me I have plenty of space to upload pictures, but the upload function appears glitched this afternoon…I’m uploading pictures here.  Apologies.   As you know, I’ve been making socks for myself.   The latest pair, of a lovely variegated blue with some purple, gave me a problem I’ve never had before, and have now solved, and I really wanted to show it off.

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