Some disjointed thoughts: I need a lot of red ink. But writing in red ink is a poor choice, ahh my eyes. Dictionary.com is my new fav website. I use some good words but I have a problem with repetition. I like adverbs too much. ly. People are always laughing and smiling at one another. I need another word for cheerful. Or maybe I need to use less cheer. I've cut down significantly on my usage of suddenly, really (and it's replacement, quite). I may be finally getting the hang of dialogue. And non-passivity. Sometimes I want to invent words because I think they sound better than the words that exist. Some of my characters need more dimension. I am finally starting to think of her as Andra instead of Emma. And she tends to get maudlin, and I'm not sure were to draw the line. I need to learn a little bit of Serbian. My doctors need something to do besides change bandages and I wish I knew more about operating, except I really don't. I'm not sure if Leonard likes the mixie I made for him, but I sure do. Punctuation, hello;--! (But I am training myself to use the ! sparingly, otherwise it is a bit like crying wolf, and loses its impact for when you really mean it.) I need sleeeep, as I have to go to workie tomorrow, and if I don't get "Home" there will be serious consequences. Sometimes I think it is really good, sometimes I think it is crap, and not only is it crap, but I get a fear that people will think "she doesn't know what she is talking about," which may or may not be worse than the feeling that I sometimes get, which is I don't know what I am talking—or writing—about. There are so many choices to make and I don't know which are the right ones. I'm going to bed.
![[Comments]](/nb//themes/Default/comments.png "6 comments")
(6) Mon Oct 10 2005 23:21 PST 11 months late, 30,000 words over. :
I've finally finished and typed a rough first draft of my novel. There is a huge gap in the middle (ok maybe not so huge) and I want to completely rewrite the entire first 5/8ths of it, but still.
- Comments:
Posted by Susie at Tue Oct 11 2005 15:26
Good job, Rachie! I like Andra better. I like dictionary.com too. I've taken to asking people what they mean when they use words or phrases I don't know. The funny thing is, they usually don't know what it really means either. It's good that you recognize all the things you need to work on, but also all the things you've already learned.
Maybe the doctor could be "examining the patient"? Isn't it the nurses who change bandages? But maybe there aren't any nurses. What is a mixie?Posted by Rachel at Tue Oct 11 2005 15:38
I find I often use words or phrases when I don't quite know what they mean, and lately people have been calling me out on it. Hanging out with Ronnie, my super-smart friend, has made me realise how relatively limted my vocabulary is. That and I used the word cheerful is various forms about 10 times in as many thousand words. Not ok. So lately I have been looking words up when I don't know exactly what they mean, rather than just guessing by context, and getting the word of the day.
Whooo I'l answer your bandage question later. A mixie is a mix CD, but is better on iTunes, which segways (mixes?) the songs so it sounds neat, like you have your own DJ in the computer.
Posted by Susie at Tue Oct 11 2005 17:20
Hah! you obviously signed up for Word-of-the-Day post-Susie or you would know that it's "segue" not segway (although that might not be the correct word anyway). =)
Posted by anonymous at Tue Oct 11 2005 18:06
Congratulations. It sounds as though you are doing exceedingly well.
Posted by Sumana at Tue Oct 11 2005 18:07
L and I liked around half the songs on the mix CD, if I recall correctly. Thanks! We laughed very hard at your inclusion of "The Final Countdown" by Europe!
Posted by Becca at Tue Oct 11 2005 21:26
The Final Countdown! Such a rad song. And I have a red pen! But I think I'll make a rule that only I can use it. Hint hint.