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Re-reading Textism » An Annotated Manifesto for Growth, thanks to the antman, and this hit me where I live:
"18 Stay up late. Strange things happen when you've gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world. "
"Translation: the best work is done, the most inspiration comes, from the only real muse: Fear. Especially the fear of what's due in the morning. "
My 100% date is monday. I still have one more chapter to write.
pray for me.
I've heard so many tales of last minute writing that ends up in regret for the author, I have to wonder if it's worth it. Has anyone considered just blowing the deadline and telling the publisher it's going to take an additional week to get it right, and that's just the way it is? Would you lose part of the advance? Would they possibly have more respect for you and give you the advance anyway?
It just seems the book is going to be around for years, and we should honor its place in our lives.
In any case, you have my prayers :)
Oh, don't worry Victor. it's first draft. I still get edits.
Lou gave me great advice-- he said, the writing is sh*t until after author review -- Don't panic.
And he's right. I mean, i try to write well, but my tech editors rip me a new one and then I write a much better version. The fact is, the act of new writing is so painful if it weren't for deadlines (and last minute work) I'd never accomplish anything at all.
of course, that's not to say new writing doesn't HURT!
As for the price, it's not giving back the advance, it's missing your publication date. and I really want this to be out before christmas. mostly I just want to be done.
Editors are a writer's best friend. Back when I was doing tech writing full time, I always laughed when one of my colleagues would complain about the editors. The way I looked at it, the editor's job was to make me look good. They're particularly good at spotting those bits of clever writing that you love but that don't work. It's hard for a writer to kill his/her own babies. Editors wield the knife much more easily.
I'm actually a little worried about this at my new job. I spent this past week working on the online help for a web application. It's been a long time since I wrote online help, and since it's a small startup, there's no editor to steer me in the right direction. Ah well, maybe a weekend away from it will help me knife the babies when I go back to work on Monday....
when the muse is out it does little good to
knock on the door.