t non-sequitor
Herring rollmops?
(I suppose I could clean the hardwood floors with fish...)
Angel: Is that what you think you are--a hero? Spike: Saved the world didn't I? Angel: Once. Talk to me after you've done it a couple more times.
'Destiny'
The Great Write Way
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
Ms. Havisham - Jul 11, 2003 6:45:44 pm PDT #1569 of 10001
And we will call it... "This Land."
deborah grabien - Jul 11, 2003 7:02:46 pm PDT #1570 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Hee! Herring rollmops (I was actually asked to do them for a party for a Dutch couple, as hors d'ouvres, are rolled-up herring fillets on sticks. They're smoked fish with a dipping sauce and they're intensely labour-intensive.
I have to start these edits. I don't want to right now, damnit.
deborah grabien - Jul 12, 2003 1:36:04 pm PDT #1571 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Oh dear.
I am halfway through the edits and commentary. My comments are now at six typewritten pages and they're getting progressively crankier.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear dear dear.
For every line of show, there are fifty of tell.
Shoot me now...
Ms. Havisham - Jul 12, 2003 1:40:07 pm PDT #1572 of 10001
And we will call it... "This Land."
Is there anything nice to be said about it at all?
deborah grabien - Jul 12, 2003 1:43:41 pm PDT #1573 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Well - they're very nice people.
That's, well, yes.
That's all I got.
(banging head against monitor)
Ms. Havisham - Jul 12, 2003 1:48:39 pm PDT #1574 of 10001
And we will call it... "This Land."
Ouch. On both counts.
Hope you're going with the chapter-by-chapter tutoring and hopefully they'll start to realize what they need to do on their own plan. Cause ultimately, it's their story and not yours so you shouldn't bleed yourself dry over it.
And hey, less-than-perfect manuscripts get published all the time.
deborah grabien - Jul 12, 2003 1:52:12 pm PDT #1575 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Ms H, that's recisely what I'm doing - they've already been told, anything more than this and we're in the ghosting range, and ghosting is $4-$5K, except that I. Don't. Wanna.
This isn't less than perfect; it's not publishable. It reads like a cross between a series of gossip sheet press releases and someone's idea for a movie of the week teleplay treatment.
Oh well. Off to Woodside, to have dinner with a real writer, damnit. Not to mention a real editor; Deb B was Editor In Chief of Orion Press and maybe she can tell me how to cope with this junk.
Ms. Havisham - Jul 12, 2003 1:57:07 pm PDT #1576 of 10001
And we will call it... "This Land."
Maybe you can point them toward an online crit group?
That's all I got. I'm off to dinner too.
Consuela - Jul 12, 2003 2:15:27 pm PDT #1577 of 10001
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
Deb, I feel your pain as well. I've done what you're doing, but only for very very short pieces. It hurts, and it's hard as hell.
You're a good friend, and I hope they learn from the experience.
deborah grabien - Jul 12, 2003 10:52:48 pm PDT #1578 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
A nice evening with Tad tonight, and Deb's advice was stinging and to the point: tell them what you've got. Show them the difference. Tell them to take notes. Then cut them loose. They haven't done their writerly homework in the basics.