Pico, Day 8

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Here's today's post for your snippets,comments, thought.

Comments

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Finished editing the mini-chapter I was working on yesterday, and have split the next one and had a few rounds on the first half. Unfortunately my pruning shears seem blunt, as I haven't managed to cut out either of the bigger bits I was gunning for, and it's actually longer now than it was before I started shortening it. Sigh. Have a snippet of edited stuff...

The mirror seemed the best bet. ‘There,’ I said, handing over my improvised candle holder. The king’s scouts would have been proud of me. Except the thing was probably another one-off antique. Did ivory even burn? Most folk weren’t fool enough to stick the stuff near enough a flame to find out. ‘Don’t drip wax on your nice frock. And don’t knock it, whatever you do. We don’t want to find out your big sister’s let the fire premiums lapse.’ The modern commercial quarter was said to owe its existence to a hundred year old candle in a glove maker’s on The Gullet that had burned a moth hole in the old town a mile around.

[saki101.livejournal.com]

More good progress, if of a slightly different nature than you expected!

...burned a moth hole in the old town a mile around.

Love that description.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Thank you! At least it's all forward momentum. Sooner or later I'll have to get around to writing off the end, and that's scary...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I agree with Saki. It is a very visual image - for the lack of a better word.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I like it too! Unfortunately I now realise I've used moth hole two chapters on. Sigh.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I soooo know that feeling... editing doesn't always do what I want it to.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Sigh. I might be well advised just to do a minimalistic edit on the [expletive deleted] palace section and try to write onwards off the end & get my poor protag out of there! I keep telling myself I can always do another round of editing later.

[avon7.livejournal.com]

The conversation sounds very real.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I haven't been excerpting much dialogue because I've generally not been editing it very much.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Love the imagery there.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

Hope you can find a sharpener!

I'm intrigued about whether ivory burns, now.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've just Googled it and setting light to it is a recommended way of dealing with poached ivory, so yes. Let's hope he's using the glass part of the mirror.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Editing often seems to be like that! Maybe the length isn't as much of an issue as you think?

Intriguing snippet! I'm really curious about what he's sneaking around for.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The next day's snippet follows broadly on from this.

I've decided not to worry too much about the bloat till I've actually got a complete first draft. At the rate I'm proceeding, that'll be sometime in the next millennium...

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good plan. Hopefully progress will improve!