Ta-daa!

[resonant]

Praise the protector-of-small-books; the second draft of the romance is finished.

We're leaving next Friday for another long visit to the in-laws', heaven help us, and I'll be happy to be able to take a vacation from the book. I was getting to the point where every morning I got up and thought, "Damn it, I don't want to write about these stupid people and their stupid problems."

Once I get back, I can give it another draft -- to polish up the language, to make sure developments at the end are well supported at the beginning, to plant brass plaques in unobtrusive places so that they can Serve Crucial Plot Ends.

I still think of myself as the person who does everything at the last minute in one draft, rewriting only enough to fix obvious problems -- that's the way I did everything in high school and college. I guess the results matter to me more now, or else I'm taking on more ambitious projects, because I'm now an extremely drafty and outline-y person. ("Dear English teacher, you'll be happy to know that I take a lot more trouble with my writing now that I'm a pornographer.")

Meanwhile, while I'm in California, I can work on the outline for the next romance. And write slash stories.

Comments

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

"Dear English teacher, you'll be happy to know that I take a lot more trouble with my writing now that I'm a pornographer."

I would be so very proud to receive a letter like this from one of my former students. *g*

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Also? Congrats on finishing the second draft (I *knew* there was something I meant to say before thoughts of pornography distracted me. *g*)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

And who knows, maybe some of your students are getting the writing-lessons-via-smut even as we speak.

[dsudis.livejournal.com]

"Dear English teacher, you'll be happy to know that I take a lot more trouble with my writing now that I'm a pornographer."

I want to say something like this to my high school English teacher. I hated everything we read my senior year, mainly because I was violently opposed to searching for hidden meanings in everything I read; it's only through reading and writing slash - and having contact with fans who plumb subtext for fun and make their own on a daily basis - that I've come to appreciate what she was trying to teach us.

Come to think of it, my two creative writing instructors from before I got into slash could probably stand apologies, too...

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I was violently opposed to searching for hidden meanings in everything I read

Interesting. I've never heard that objection before.

I was just the opposite -- I didn't enjoy literature classes because their way of looking at books seemed so obvious. "Let's find all the moon imagery in this Shakespeare play." "Uh, no, let's, like, talk about royalty and the social order, whaddaya say?"

[dsudis.livejournal.com]

Well, it was a matter of plausible authorial intent, for me. When we read Macbeth and talked about the chain of being and how Elizabethans understood the universe to be ordered and how all of that was reversed by a regicide, I was into it. When we read Jane Eyre and the teacher started going on about how when Jane meets Mr. Rochester and Jane is standing up and Mr. Rochester is on the ground, this indicates the author's beliefs on feminism, I just started getting annoyed, because it was a story, and why couldn't we just be reading the story? But, like I said, I've learned to be more critical since then.

[laurenmitchell.livejournal.com]

I was playing a game the other day where we had to quote things, and got told I could quote fan fiction, and started quoting Transfigurations, specifically "Malfoy wasn't really dirty, but Harry found a smear between navel and hipbone and licked it with showy thoroughness" (I think I got it right).

Three people promptly asked me for the URL, saying "I've GOT to read this!"

I was amused.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Gosh. I feel so ... quotable!

[laurenmitchell.livejournal.com]

I only remembered it because I'd been rereading the fic the night before the game.

Ooohhh ...

[ex-lonicera600.livejournal.com]

the second draft of the romance is finished

What is it? When will we get it? starts drooling on keyboard and drums fingers

Is it HP again? Please?

I've read 'Transfigurations' about four times already and love it to pieces. I would sooo love more in this vein!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Oh, sorry -- thought I'd yammered on about it before. It's a romance novel that I'm going to attempt to sell to Silhouette. Not fannish at all. Sorry.

But I'm so glad you liked Transfigurations!

[ex-lonicera600.livejournal.com]

What a pity for us HP-readers! But I wish you the best of luck for your novel - though I'm convinced you won't need it. Your publisher will rip it from you and confine you to your PC to write more, I'm sure. Take care!

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

a vacation from the book. I was getting to the point where every morning I got up and thought, "Damn it, I don't want to write about these stupid people and their stupid problems."
What book, what? Origfic? whatwhatwhat? *gets very excited*

"Dear English teacher, you'll be happy to know that I take a lot more trouble with my writing now that I'm a pornographer."
*cackles insanely*

Oh, she'd be *so* pleased that all her efforts paid off in the end. And who knows what username she's haunting you with on LJ...?? Bwuahah.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, origfic -- a romance novel, specifically. I submitted the synopsis to Silhouette a couple of weeks ago, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

And who knows what username she's haunting you with on LJ...?? Bwuahah.

You meant to make me cringe and shudder, didn't you? Evil wench.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

I cringe myself at the thought of rl people haunting the halls of LJ. There is a Call for Papers advertised, an *academic conference* on HP fandom. For some reason, this perturbs me greatly. I can't help thinking it'll be a bunch of closet slashers all meeting up with university funding. *screeches* Too close to the bone! Too close to the bone! And on LJ they might parade in the guise of dracosbitch or pumpmewiththatbroom or, indeed, lobelia321.... aargh!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Someone in chat was complaining that she'd looked in her boss's internet cache and found slash pages. She was just shocked because she hated her boss, and didn't want to think that people like that might be slashers too ...

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Eeep, because that means her hated boss might be reading *her* fics.

I would be incredibly shocked to find any of my colleagues even knowing what slash was. Um, colleagues are child-like innocents, are they not...?

[dementordelta.livejournal.com]

*cheers entire post, but especially last line*

If you'd like someone to read over the Romance, I'm always happy to!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I may very well need some fresh eyes on it when I finish the polishing draft.