Road to nowhere

[altariel]

I know that word-counting is a pretty artificial way of measuring progress but, really, after three hours of reconstructing, paragraph shuffling, and damn hard thinking, I'd still like to see more of a net gain than 28 words. This post is longer.

Comments

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Heard and understood, particularly in the wake of my own recent short story experiences.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

And no platitudes, I promise you, about them being the twenty-eight right words and therefore better than 200 not-so-right ones...

When I tell myself that, I just annoy me.

[greylin.livejournal.com]

I bet those 28 words are bloody good ones.

Did you hear the Fat Duck mentioned on the Today programme at around 8.50 this morning? Some Oxford professor was lauding their use of seaside sound effects through earphones to enhance their seafood - he claims to have proved that it really does sharpen the appetite. Maybe if you played the sound of a typewriter or a quill scratching on parchment while you worked ...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I've a horrible feeling those 28 words will end up overwritten... *gnashes teeth*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Sympathy!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I suspect they'll get overwritten, gah.

I just listened to that bit from the Today programme, thank you! I think I may have said that I didn't like having the headphones (I like discussing the food as I'm eating it, not to mention eavesdropping on other tables), but that seafood dish was particularly delicious, so perhaps it is an appetite enhancer!

[executrix.livejournal.com]

NINOTCHKA: We wil have fewer, but better, Russians.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

LOL!

[bill-leisner.livejournal.com]

Oy, can I commiserate.

Hey, at least after three hours of reconstructing, paragraph shuffling, and damn hard thinking, there was a net gain.

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

Still, if they're 28 really long words...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

10 PRINT "SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS"
20 GOTO 10

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thank you!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That's a bloody good point!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Sometimes while I'm writing I literally say out loud, "Gah, this sucks!" as it goes on the page.

Oh, me too! Sometimes I sing it as well.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

My thought too. It would have been quite possible for it to have finished up substantially shorter than before. Which needn't have been a bad thing; short and to the point can be better than long and waffly.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I did indeed fear that the count had gone down. Mostly I've been pruning back and organizing thrown down notes, so it was inevitable really.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Numbers are liars and not to be trusted.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Boy are you right. Well, to be fair, it was a good three hours work. I'm a lot clearer about what has to go in the spaces now.

[trixieleitz]

I am so there right now. Unfortunately, this essay doesn't seem to be writing itself. Bah!

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm certainly no professional, but when I have that kind of writing day, I'd like to think of it as driving in a lot of hooks, from which many wonderful words will hang with delightful ease tomorrow.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Gah!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Hah! You always have the perfect way of putting it!