I am in the middle of going through what I hope are the last few tweaks of Calyn’s story. Of course, the problem with tweaking one section is that I have to follow the thread all the way through the manuscript to make sure that everything still hangs together. But I know that manuscript so well at this point that I can quickly scrolling to the appropriate scene. If I have to fix a description, it can be slow going. Even conversations can be difficult because I have to find the right moment to drop them in.
That’s why I deeply appreciated reading the following observation from Robin McKinley’s blog today:
* The problem with more words on more pages is the eternal prospect of REWRITING the more words on more pages. Back in typewriter days I used to get to the end of the third draft and say THAT’S IT. WHATEVER IS WRONG WITH IT CAN JUST STAY WRONG.^ In these sleek clicky computer days you don’t get to say ‘my fingers are bleeding’.
This is one case where the odd signs on the post are not a product of HTML gobbledy-gook. Ms. McKinley’s blog has serious footnotes.
Kristin Wolden Nitz 