I’d never seen a Paul Newman movie before this year*, and I think I commented here that when I watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, that although the opening scene was in sepia, when the camera came around for the first time so you could see Newman’s eyes, they were so arresting that I could have just sat there for ninety minutes gawking at that still frame. I’ve still only seen Butch Cassidy and The Sting (I had *no idea* he was in the Elizabeth Taylor Cat on a…
Category: Uncategorized
“I do not want to work today,”
…said little Peggy Ann McKay. I have 200 pages to go on this manuscript. I’m about 7 pages from the most aughful moment in it, a scene which I quite love. Once I’m done, I can go forth into what is looking like it’ll turn out to be a beautiful day, and spend the afternoon listening to trad, bluegrass and banjo music, because there’s a festival here this weekend. I’m going to take my camera. I haven’t done any photography in ages, and it sounds great. All I have to…
why, yes, I am procrastinating
A question from /comments which allows me to spend a little more time not working on the manuscript right now (I’ve done 100 pages so far today. I have to do at least 50 more. Another 100 would be good, because it would leave me with a bearable amount to do tomorrow, but either way I’ll finish the first revision pass tomorrow): Though, now I’m curious — is there an average number of times that a manuscript will pass between your agent, editor and self? I never really thought about…
The man who saved the world
On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet lieutenant colonel, correctly interpreted a satellite early warning system’s notification that the United States had launched a nuclear attack on the USSR as a false alarm, and chose not to pursue the line of doctrine that would have assured mutual destruction. Petrov doesn’t consider himself a hero. I sure as hell do.
Gawd.
God, but THE PRETENDER’S CROWN is a big book. I’ve gone through over 300 pages now (and cut 15 or 20. I’m hoping to discover, when I read my editor’s suggestions on things to cut, that she’s got *different* places to cut from. I don’t know that I can manage to strike the 100 pages that /Jenn thinks would be ideal, but if I could get up to 50 or even *pipe dreams* 70, that would be fantastic), and I’ve just reached the enormously climactic scene that sets everything up…