I'm done with 31 (for now) and onward to 32 where maybe I'll use a couple of snatches of dialogue from my rough draft. Maybe.

Unforeseen events conspired to minimize writing time, however I did manage to get 32 part way done. Hopefully, I will have more time this week to make some real progress.

I'm getting a concerned that the amount of plot and the speed of events is going to make the novel too shallow unless I use an unpublishable word count. OTOH, the odds of getting published aren't all that great so maybe I'll make a longer version anyhow after I make one of submittable length. OTOOH, the exercise of trimming and adding a bit more depth strategically to keep my word count low enough might make for the best result.

I want to get this rewrite done so I can see where I stand and make those strategic choices.

Also, since November is over with, we shall see if beta exchange person 1 will return as promised. I suspect not, but I could be surprised.

I still have some work to do on 32 to get it all cleaned up. Chapter 33 is progressing pretty well, it might run a bit long compared to the other chapters. I'm at 75k words, 45k word budget left, that suddenly seems very small.

I also need to do a critique. It's a short chapter so maybe I can knock it out tonight. I fear I'll get my chapter back from my beta exchange person before I've even looked at hers. There's never enough time.

waves sheepishly

Um. I'm teaching poetry at the moment, and as a result I wrote a poem. It's modelled on the structure of Michael Ondaatje's 'Sweet Like A Crow', and that's what the kids are writing this week. I wrote this to get them started, but I find I kind of like it, and didn't want to just throw it away. So here it is.

SWEET LIKE CRABAPPLES: A Poem

(with apologies to Michael Ondaatje)

Your voice sounds like ten hungry ducks
waddling after bread in Cawthorne Park;
Like a crowd of angry coal miners shouting at the cameras;
Like a bald wrestler declaiming Shakespearean soliloquies;
Like a bus full of tired children singing rude songs;
Like a ferret down your trousers;
Like a genial talk-show host in his declining years;
Like someone putting their muck in our dustbin
when our dustbin’s full;
Like a bus station forever being built and rebuilt;
Like the rustle of a paper bag of cola cubes and flying saucers;
Like a boy's kestrel being killed;
Like a big black bull following two screaming girls and a pregnant lady
out of a blackberry patch;
Like fast footsteps echoing in a dark arcade after a shop-window shatters;
Like a whole town driving down to Wembley, waving scarves and singing songs;
Like a whole town driving back up North, crestfallen and quiet;
Like the muffled curses of two men stealing new flagstones before the cement sets;
Like a dog chasing a cat up a tree;
Like a cat chasing a dog down the street;
Like a slipper smashing down on a schoolboy’s bum;
Like a bookshop closing;
Like fireworks long months after Bonfire Night;
Like a knife sinking into home-made crabapple jelly, carrying a burden of breadcrumbs and butter;
Like an ice-cream van with a broken chime, selling strawberry Mivvis and 99s;
Like a rich cricket commentator who never buys a round;
Like a million blood-bright poppies bobbing gently in the breeze;
Like the music at my grandmother’s funeral;
Like the clatter of a china cup settling back onto a saucer;
Like shopgirls dressed in Santa hats and tinsel, stumbling from pub to pub;
Like the hiss of fresh fish plunging into hot oil;
Like the Grimethorpe Colliery brass band still playing grimly on
long after the pit wheel stops turning at last.

Cool. That's bound to help them get going!

Hey, speaking of - did Victor announce his book here?

I got my critique done. I still have some things to fix in 32, but I'm really rolling on 33 so I'm getting that done. I think it could be a great chapter.

It helps that the ending is dramatic. There was something that always bothered me about that bit in the rough draft. It's a huge event in the plot, but one of the characters failed to do something that he would really do. That always put a damper on that scene for me. I think that's fixed now. Perhaps the scene is a bit less dramatic, but it doesn't have that thorn sticking me now.

This is a big plot event I expect the reader knows is bound to come, so I'll be curious to see reactions to it and if the strike the cord I'm targeting. Though the end of 29 still is the one I'm most curious about. Are there too many clues, too few?

I think I can still hit my target wc if I'm careful. I've allocated words in my mind for the various events and it seems doable.

Anyhow I'm hoping to put away 33 tonight and maybe even put out 34. I might be able to just tweak the rough draft for 34, I recall that bit being one of the few decent parts in the draft. OTOH, every other part I though was decent has been largely rewritten.

Wow, I've really rambled. Sorry about that.

I didn't make as much progress as I had hoped. I think 33 is getting close, just need a little fixing. Also, since 33 ran a bit long, I split it into two chapters. So now I'm working on 32, 33, and 34. I need to get all three wrapped up soon.

I still think 35 may be relatively easy, but 36 and 37 are going to be some work. Those two will be nearly complete rewrites.

Inching closer to finishing the revision.

Gud, that sounds great. Once you've revised, what's the next stage?

Well, life is already getting dull without a project. As soon as I've done the two short essays that are due for my evening class, I'm starting on the book project. I have twelve people interested in participating in my research. That's headed towards enough for a pilot study, especially since I've got more ads coming out in January editions of two little magazines. I think it's time to write a real research design.