Still writing here. Dragon in Exile currently stands at 100,716 words, and will require a few words more to reach the Thrilling Conclusion. I had hoped that we would finish the Penultimate Draft by this coming Sunday, let it sit for two days, and then go through it with the red pen and tidy up, producing thereby the Ultimate Draft in plenty of time for its turn-in date of September 15.
It actually looks like we will meet this schedule. If so, it will be the only thing about this book that has met any schedule or expectation.
Tomorrow morning, Kineo and I are going to the great city of Augusta, there to see Kineo’s tires rotated, her oil changed, and various parts lubricated. I hope also to run her through the free car wash before coming home and writing some more.
. . .and that’s all I’ve got.
Hope everyone is enjoying these last few days of summer.
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Progress on Dragon in Exile: GOOD/Author Satisfied
“Are there any more of these that might menace you?”
“I imagine so, Pilot, but I don’t how many. I’ve always assumed as a general rule of thumb that there’s two more for every one I capture.”
I know it is “Just fiction” and maybe I should be less sensitive, but I LOATHE that phrase, “Rule of thumb”. It has horrific origins and I strongly believe we should eradicate it from use in our lexicon. JMO
The rest I L O V E !!
This is what the character said. Argue with him.
What’s unfortunate about ‘rule of thumb’ see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb
And the wiki entry says!
A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination. Compare this to heuristic, a similar concept used in mathematical discourse, psychology, and computer science, particularly in algorithm design.
. . .which is exactly what the character meant to convey.
And exactly what the author meant to convey and what 99.99999&c percent of the people who read that will understand.
I am not responsible for nitwit laws made in 1792 that no one outside of a womens’ studies class ever heard of. I am interested in a concept easily conveyed in dialog that will be understood by the majority of people reading it.
I’m starting to think that I have a choice here: eschew the internet or eschew writing.
Since we’re under contract, I guess that choice is clear.
or you could simply embrace the notion that it’s not your job to set these people straight … after all you are not “the jack-ass whisperer”
Well. . .I could.
But.
I’m a writer and as such I have a certain investment in words. It really troubles me when I see: “This BAD WORD ought to be struck from our collective lexicon!” Because there are no bad words; there’s only bad intent.
And I’m also not really sure in my mind why it’s not OK to ban books, but it’s perfectly fine to ban words.
In other words — hot button topic.
Yes! And thank you.