Since I can only go so long without trying to hurt my own brain, I'm paring down a novelette so I can try to sell it to Asimov's. (And, hey, I just checked my "do market research" file, and I've got a short that hasn't gone to WotF yet! This thing's gettin' polished for next quarter!) I've got about 200 words of novelette to go before it's within guidelines. The story is pretty solid, but I can't help thinking it could be a little tighter. It still needs most of its 15K words, because the storyline is fairly complex, but I'm going to sit down, condense the story into a paragraph, and start again from there.
Oh, regarding my sex scene post from a couple of weeks ago, thanks for the feedback, guys. :) I think that I'll leave it in for now. My big concern is that it kinda sticks out after so many revisions. Right now, the book goes, "Plot, plot, plot, plot, plot, plot, TEN PAGES OF SCORCHINGLY HOT PORN, plot...." I may have to tone things down, but I'll see what Colleen says. At the very least, I know it'll have to be shorter. (And, yes, it gives some character and relationship development--hoo, boy, does that relationship develop--but I don't think it gives ten pages worth.)
Knitting goes apace. Nearly finished with Mom's present. With luck, I'll finish the main body tonight, so I can get to work on the detailing. After that, we move into blanket territory. I think I'm going to be lazy and just knit the whole thing in one piece, with blocks of intarsia rather than separate blocks. (That makes sense to knitters, I promise.) I hate finishing, so that really is the cheater's method in my mind. This way, I'll just knit, block, and throw on a single crochet edging. Boom, blanket.
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Yey for keeping the sex scene!
ReplyDeleteAnd if you keep talking about knitting, I may really have to take it up. Every fall I go into serious nesting mode and knitting seems to fit right in with my nesting instincts. I also bought a slow cooker cookbook. I am out of control.
I'll make sure to find the camera and post inspirational pictures. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf you decide to try your hand, go to http://www.knittinghelp.com before you do anything else. The site owner, Amy Finlay, has posted scads of little streaming how-to videos. It's the best instructional site on the net. Definitely listen to her advice about tension; too loose, and you'll have fishnet, but too tight, and you won't be able to complete a stitch. Another awesome source is Ravelry.com, which is a HUGE knitting and crochet community. My username there is Seward.
As far as beginning needles and yarn go, get something inexpensive but hand-friendly. I prefer short or circular needles to 14" straights, but your mileage will vary. A pair of 10" or 14" straight needles, probably a size 7 or 8, will serve you well. As for yarn, skip Red Heart. For acrylic, go to Caron Simply Soft, which is soft, very workable, pretty, and readily available. For wool or cotton, you might want to look for Lion Brand Wool-Ease or Cotton-Ease. They're blended with acrylic, which gives the yarn a nice hand and a lot of spring. Pure cotton can be a pain to work with. Pure wool is lovely, but quality varies widely and cheap wools can be scratchy.
Er, yeah. Can you tell I've got two passions in life? :)
"Plot, plot, plot, plot, plot, plot, TEN PAGES OF SCORCHINGLY HOT PORN, plot...."
ReplyDeleteThat's GREAT! I think "it" would be a nice break from all that plotting...
:) Terri
It would definitely be fun. I'm just afraid of giving people whiplash. Or, er, other organ lash. *whistles*
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