Any ideas on how else I can show that a Big Damn Hero is in a vulnerable place without him admitting it, but without going so far that his uncertainty amounts to a My Pet Goat moment?
Is there any way you can step back a bit in your p.o.v. to indicate a bit more overtly that he's so damned tired and off balance that Larger Issues are crowded out of his mind? Maybe he can come close to realizing that he's in a vulnerable place (close enough that the reader sees it) but never quite get there himself?
How about something physical? He could be doing something like shaving or taking tea from nanny-ish woman or loading and see that his hand is shaking. He could take a deep breath and will his shaking to stop.
How do ad people get called on the carpet by their bosses?
Phone call, or f2f...
F2F, IIRC
Actually, lemme elaborate. If it's a major firmwide fuckup, there will probably be an email followed by a meeting. A team fuckup that's not major, email. Single person fuckup, called to the office and told to shut the door.
Screwing up the quotes to the Bailey Banks and Biddle Valentine's day catalogue and almost letting it go to print before the admin catches it because she's pretty sure VanGough never said the quote you're attributing to him? Not so much as a mention or a thanks to the admin.
Er, um...something like that.
(sorry erika, I have no clue but...)
Hey it's monday. How about a drabble? Here's a topic:
recognition
I thought it might be, DJ. But although I've worked for editors now, and sometimes those relations have their contentions, I've never had an "Oh shit, the Boss!" boss.(You'd think that'd feel better, wouldn't you? Me too.)
Thanks for the ideas, y'all! That definitely gives me something to build on.
It's cowardly to be hiding from the email that probably contains the author's response to my first set of edit notes, isn't it.
If I was into power, this would be a cool gig. But I'm discovering power makes me nauseous. I keep going, "What the hell do I know about making someone else's writing better? He's going to send me hate mail, track down my address, appear at my door with a baseball bat, and smash my computer."
It's hard balancing personal taste against writing that needs tweaked. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean it needs fixed.
I'd say give him the notes anyway...he doesn't have to use them all.
Oh, he's got them, I'm just too cowardly to look for his reply.
