One of the delights of writing a really short short story is the fact that you can edit and revise it many times in a single sitting. I finished a 2300-word story on Friday and spent the weekend going over and over and over it, honing and taming it a bit at a time. Just when I thought I was finished with it, I would discover something else I could tweak to bring it into better focus. I couldn’t say exactly how many drafts I went through, as the concept of a draft is more fluid in the days of word processing than with typewriters. I know that I printed it out at least five or six times, but that was only so I could edit with a pen instead of on the screen, which is something of a different process for me. I sent the story off this morning, two months before deadline, otherwise I would continue to work on it to the exclusion of everything else. I plan to move on to another old story tomorrow and get it back into shape for submission. According to my checklist, I currently have about 17 stories currently in circulation. I just know the day of reckoning is going to come when I hear about seven or eight of them all at once.
I’m quite pleased with the way the new story turned out. We’ll see what the editors have to say sometime in October or November.
Hurricane Bill skirted along the Atlantic coast yesterday. Halifax seems to have gotten away with only some power outages and a lot of rain. It sounded like it was going to be worse than it was, although a number of people tempting fate were caught up by riptides and crashing waves both in Maine and in Nova Scotia.
School started back up again today down here. That means only one thing for me: school zones that must be heeded in the morning!
We watched The Soloist with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx this weekend. Though they bat around the word “schizophrenic,” the Foxx character’s diagnosis is never stated. However, if that’s what it is, this movie had one of the most interesting ways of depicting that condition. All the voices talking at him all the time, silenced only when he listened to music, at which point he saw bands and ribbons of color. Made me think of Rhodi Hawk’s forthcoming novel, A Twisted Ladder, where schizophrenia in one family is actually caused by river demons who chatter at them incessantly, a side effect of a particular wild talent in members of the family. The movie was very good, as it didn’t come up with any miracle cures or pat solutions to Ayers’ situation. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent.
When the numbers get low in Big Brother, the strategy has to change. Right now there are essentially three factions of two, and whoever gets HoH next is going to be wielding a mighty club. Jeff isn’t eligible, so if Jordan doesn’t win that puts the current power couple in an awkward situation. Even winning HoH or not is a strategic move, because you have to look ahead to the following week to see if being out of contention jeopardizes your situation. I think back-dooring Russell isn’t a bad move this week, if that’s what they decide to do. He’s probably the craftiest and most ruthless player remaining. Jordan winning POV last week was a real revelation. It demonstrated her smarts in the game.
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