That's A Lot Of Socks

[teddy_radiator]

Hello, all. Still committed to trying to post here more often, and get away from the Toxic Swamp of Facebook. It is so depressing there now I can barely stand to log in, even though it's the best way to keep up with all my friends. There's got to be a better way.

Audible Chine is coming along well. Evan Harris, my reader, is doing a great job, and working with him is so much fun. He took a shine to one of my most despicable characters and made every word that oozed from this character's lips a masterclass in E-veel. It was a shame he (the character, not Evan) got killed off about halfway through the book. There is a very difficult chapter (stgulik, you will know the one I'm referring to), involving a great deal of violence, but he handled it with great sensitivity and confidence. He's a fan of horror films, and not in the least bit squeamish. I told him it needed to be read in a detached, clinical way, and he managed to do just that without losing any of the menace or tension of the moment. I am very proud of it.

Prior to that, he had read through what is probably the most erotic and smut-filled chapters of the book, and I have to tell you, I was so enthralled with his reading of it I totally forgot to squirm. Even though he has always read the erotic parts confidently and comfortably, without a trace of self-consciousness, I would be thinking, "My god, this is one of my friends and he's reading this stuff aloud - what must he think of me? How can I look him in the face?"

He did such a perfect job, I actually got caught up in the eroticism of it. It sounded at times like he was tasting the words in his mouth. For an author hearing their words read by someone, there can be no greater compliment than that. He almost sounded turned on himself, which made it very personal and sensual.

Work on Book three has brought about an epiphany of sorts this week. I have about 40K worth of stuff already written for the book, and I've been staring at it for weeks, trying to wade through what I should keep and what I should discard. The other day, I told TheHubs™ that it feels like I'm staring at a mountain of mismatched socks, and they all need darning and pairing up and the idea that I have to go through each and every sock and fix it is overwhelming me. These are chapters I wrote ages ago, and while the gist of the story stays the same, I write differently now. My 'voice' is different (sorry I know that sounds pretentious); the tone of the story is different. I will have to literally go through these old chapters word for word and change it before I can even start pulling it all together in one cohesive narrative. I said, "I can't help feeling that, instead of going through all this shit, day in and day out, fixing this mess, should I just throw everything out and just get a whole load of brand new socks?"

He thought for a moment, then answered, "Well, if you don't, you'll always think of them as darned socks. You'll never be really satisfied, will you?"

And there you have it. A lovely little analogy, taken to its nth degree, and resolved. So yes, I'm throwing out 99% of it. A couple of chapters at the end of The Chine were removed and will be placed at the beginning of Book Three, Silverbirch, and I'll keep some of that, but tonight I wrote the Prologue from scratch. It's sort of sad to think I'll be chloroforming a lot of sort-of decent stuff, but maybe I can recycle them elsewhere. The majority of it, though, really is a pile of old socks not worth repairing.

We had a mondo yard sale this weekend to raise a bit more money for the UK trip, and it was fairly successful. It was also a perfect day, sitting underneath a very large old oak tree, chatting with friends while TheHubs™ played with her cats and her boyfriend's band serenaded us and people gave me crumpled dollar bills for my old junk. A couple of very busy weeks await us at work, thank goodness, and hopefully more to follow. July was abysmal, work-wise. I need about $800 more dollars to achieve my goal for the trip, and I think I'm going to make it after all!

Well, I'm off to get us ready for a very early start to the week. Hugs to all who needs 'em, and I hope your week is fab. Stay fresh, cheese bags!!

Comments

[madeleone]

It's lovely to see you posting here, Teddy.

I'm not a fan of FB even though I have both a RL one and one for fandom and authors I follow and such. I mostly lurk and rarely post there, so I'll admit I've lost track of a lot of fandom friends over the last few years.

Hope you reach your goal for the trip, sounds like fun.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

It's lovely to see you here, too! I have been absent for far too long. And FB just depresses the hell out of me. The atmosphere is so much more calming and nurturing here.

Thank you! We are confident we'll reach it, and the trip is just everything we've wanted to do for so long.

[mywitch.livejournal.com]

Duckling, how lovely to see you here again! And I'm thrilled The Chine is getting the Evan treatment. I blushed listening to Her Minder, so I'll probably have to listen to this one hiding in a box. :P

I was just reading Choose Something Like a Star this afternoon, in a clever dodge to get out of doing the work I desperately need to do today! It was as lovely as always and I shed many happy tears!

{{hugs}}

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Hello, precious! I'm glad I could provide a nice distraction. Thank you for still reading my fics. It is so gratifying when I get feedback on them, especially from you.

Evan is doing a great job. I get so excited every afternoon when he messages me that a new chapter has been uploaded. I'm so proud of the job he's doing.

[reynardo.livejournal.com]

Hey! No picking on the socks!

Ahem.

Actually, you're right about the concept. And to be honest, there's quite a few socks in the basket which are probably never going to see their mate again...

*Hovers protectively over The Well of Lost Soles and tells it I will never abandon it*

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I thought about you when I wrote this!!

I would never attempt to lure you away from the Well! ;)

[beffeysue.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see you here. I find it a very peaceful place to keep in touch with friends. I don't post as often as I should, but I check LJ everyday. Glad your "mondo yard sale" went so well.

I couldn't write my way out of a wet paperback, but I think TheHubs™ gave you a great and helpful suggestion. You still have the written parts in a file if you want to revisit them, but this way you won't have to darn so many darn socks to move on Silverbirch.

Wishing you both a very productive and prosperous work week. ~lots of hugs~

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, Beffey. Your kind words and gentle spirit always fill my heart with joy. I am so blessed to have you as my friend. <3

[pauraque]

I don't think it's pretentious to notice that your voice as a writer is changing. I expect it just means you're growing and improving. Throwing out stuff you've already written can feel bad, but I've found it's an important thing to let myself do, because sometimes starting fresh and having another go makes waaaaay more sense than continuing to edit material that's become more trouble than it's worth. Good luck with it all!

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Exactly so. I have all this stuff that I wrote, and I knew that most of it was just stuff that helped me to understand the characters, and didn't move plot forward by so much as an inch. It was literally like unpicking a seam to resew it, and it just suddenly seemed like I was taking a step back instead of a step forward. A blank page is daunting, but all those pages of junk I needed to fix was even more so.

[hbart.livejournal.com]

I’m glad writing is going well. I think starting over is 100% the way to go. If something was really meant to be included, you’ll find your way back to it.