Third Draft

sunny, calm, warm - perfect day - temps 28

A really lovely day....hardly a whisper of wind...not too hot. Not humid. One of those really magical days.

I spent it inside - writing. Or editing, I guess.

Started the third draft today. The plan (it should really be in quotation marks) was to get at the laptop by 8am, do fifty pages, and be finished early afternoon.

But then I had a brainwave. I'd do something I'd never done before. I'd work on the very last chapter first. I'd ben worried that in the two previous drafts I'd rushed it - been just way too tired by the time I reached the end and I wasn't happy with it. the second draft was way closer to what I wanted, but I knew I could do better. so I spend quite a bit of last week quietly pondering it. It's a funny process of not thinking about it, but trying to open my find and hope inspiration drops in. And a few ideas did.

In some cases it was a turn of phrase, in others it was a structural issue. Some stuff I wanted to play with...suppose I did this first, and moved that over there, and placed such-and-such here...God bless laptops, where I can play like that - move things about - and see.

So today, at 8am, I got started. Just the final chapter. And I finished at 5pm. Quite tired....and quite certain I am considerably closer. Might even be there....might have nailed it....but between us, I'm just too close to it now to know. so tomorrow I'll go to the beginning of the book and move forward - as I normally do.

By the time I reach the end again - at the end of the week I hope - I'll know if it works.

but I honestly don't feel stressed anymore. I know I'll get it, if I haven't already. That it's either there, or close.

Lovely day with no interruptions. Saw no one. Perfect writing day. ended with a barbequed steak and corn on the cob - sitting on the porch this peaceful evening.

tomorrow my brother Doug and his son Charlie arrive, along with....Buttercup!!! The hound from Hell. We only call her that because for many years she was totally unmanageable. Uncontrollable. the only consolation was that there wasn't a mean bone in her body, or her ferociously wagging tail. She simply had a surfeit of joy - and an ability to digest entire living room sets, then poop them out in the field. Fascinating to walk Buttercup. It's a sort of disgusting magic act.

They're arriving from Toronto tomorrow. am hoping to edit in the mornings and play with them in the afternoons. Weather's supposed to be very nice. Uncle Michael is really looking forward to it....besides the fact he loves them, we also all go out for soft ice cream in Sutton....and to watch Uncle Michael eat ice cream is something never to be forgotten. I'll try to take a photo - it too is a sort of disgusting magic act, where slowly, over the course of about 15 minutes, he morphs into a huge ice cream cone himself.

Talk to you soon - hope you've enjoyed your weekend.