Wednesday 28 May 2008

First draft editing

Hold on to your seats – I like the first paragraph. This is a major announcement in my world, as I have been patting it around my Word doc for the last two days. This is editing at the pace of a small lame snail. There are 2,235 paragraphs in this novel, apparently, and if I spend two days on each then I’ll be the age of Miss Marple by the time I finish, except I won’t have a house in Runny Mead (or wherever she lived). Oh no. It will be a box on the Special Brew.

‘Special Brew’ – I have only just realised what a strange name that is – like ‘mystery drink’.

“I’ll have a pint of your finest special brew!” winks the jovial looking Doctor at the one-eyed bar-tender, who nods slyly and reaches under the dirty counter for a pint glass brimming with a muddy-coloured liquid. “Always like to please, sir!” he replies in a grovelling tone, and then watches in horrified fascination as the man downs it in one, his countenance taking on the terrible appearance of Mr Hyde...

Special Brew tastes of motor oil, I seem to recall. Or puddle water. Not that I go around drinking motor oil or puddle water, at least, not on a regular basis. Still, it definitely is a ‘brew’ of some description, special or not.

Sigh... I think paragraph two beckons, don't you?

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