21st Century Breakdown
I’ve been listening to two things lately. At the gym on my iPod I’ve been playing “left right left right,” the free live album that Coldplay offered on their website. Their songs have an energy that lends itself to the elliptical trainer. In my car I’ve been listening to the new Green Day album. I pre-ordered the special edition that has four extra tracks, songs that include covers of The Who and Bob Dylan. There’s a lot going on in this album, and I like it pretty much from track 1 to track 22. Last Night on Earth reminds me of early 1980s E.L.O., for example. I wish their lyrics were easier to parse, but the music alone is enough to keep me flipping back to the beginning of the album whenever I reach the end.
I bought a new monitor yesterday to replace the one that was DOA when I got up in the morning. Went for the cheapest I could find, since I’m not all that demanding. So long as it can show words and the occasional video I’m happy. No video games, not my style. I got a 20″ Acer like the one pictured. All of a sudden I have a lot more monitor real estate to play with–love these wide screen monitors. Used to be that a monitor would set you back serious coin and break your back. This one was lighter than a briefcase and just about as easy to carry out of the store. Does anyone know if I’m saving anything by setting it up in 16-bit mode as opposed to 32? Or the opposite? I’m partly colorblind, and the color of the words on the page is fine so long as they’re black. I thought maybe I’d free up some CPU crunching or memory by stepping down, but that might be just wishful thinking.
The new Torchwood five-part series started airing in the UK this week. Thanks to a friend abroad, I’m going to have the first couple of episodes to see in a day or so. I’ve heard good things about it so far.
It seems to me that Raising the Bar is aiming for lack-of-resolution stories this season. The past two episodes have ended that way, at least. The cop who was culpable for Jerry’s patient’s death isn’t in any trouble (other than a potential civil suit and perhaps some interesting questions to answer from his girlfriend). I’m starting to think that the other lawyer’s stalker isn’t her soon-to-be-ex husband–but maybe we’re meant to think that.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever withdrawn a work from publication after it was accepted and scheduled. There may have been other instances where the publisher couldn’t get his act together and get the book out the door where I’ve withdrawn work, but this was an entirely different situation. As I mentioned yesterday, after 18 months the publisher decided to send the manuscript out to a different editor for review. This is after the editor acquired the story, defined the table of contents and went through revisions with the authors. I’ve never heard of such a thing before. In any case, the report on my story was pretty brutal, and one of the central themes was that I hadn’t successfully captured the voice of a male protagonist, being that I am a female writer and such things are a challenge. No, I’m not joking. The editor even identified passages that a male would never write. Huh. The rest of this editor’s critique may have been entirely valid and acutely perceptive, but I couldn’t take any of it seriously after such a stunning declaration. I wish I knew who he or she was so I could present myself and see the reaction.
Anyhow, the acquiring editor, who was perfectly happy with the story 18 months ago, enough to enter into a contract to publish it, decided that the story needed major work based on the external editor’s remarks, and would I undertake to rewrite the entire story in two weeks, since the book is going to press in six. Normally I’m a very agreeable writer, willing to cooperate with editors who make reasonable requests. In this case I found myself saying “no.” I would make small modifications if deemed necessary, but I wasn’t going to re-imagine the story or change the approach. That wasn’t the story I wanted to tell–nor the one the editor acquired back in 2007. I drew the line in the sand — take it as is (with minor polish) or not. The decision was “not,” so I asked for a written release from the contract, which I obtained. This is going to leave a 4000-word hole in their manuscript, and that doesn’t make me happy, but that’s life. Sometimes you have to take a stand for something you feel strongly about.
The one good thing to come out of this — now I have something to write about for my next Storytellers Unplugged essay!
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