felis_ultharus: The Pardoner from the Canterbury Tales (Default)
felis_ultharus ([personal profile] felis_ultharus) wrote2006-02-13 05:52 pm

Of Substitute Villains and Tottel's Miscellany

Pars Primae

Editing my novel slowed to a crawl -- sometimes as little as half a page a day -- and I realized the reason.

About 75% of the novel is perfect -- it merely needs minor adjustments of word choice and word order, and the ironing out of slight continuity issues. Some chunks could be removed, but large swathes of it are publishable. I've been considering reading one section at this thing Concordia's having for English students.

Problem is, the other 25% needs a total rewrite. Unfortunately, that 25% is basically every scene that features my villain because that villain just isn't working at all. I have to build that back up from scratch.

All is not despair, however. A minor villain seems eager to take his place. Actually, she's been a major villain in a few short stories, and showed up as a minor villain in my last novel. She was the only one who made the migration between novels. Seems she can't bear to be left out :)

Her style is very different from the first, but I think she'll be a lot more interesting.

Pars Secunda

Doesn't Tottel's Miscellany sound like a curio shop that sell magical devices in a cobblestone alley in a part of London that only appears during certain phases of the moon? No...? You people are no fun.

[identity profile] ubergreenkat.livejournal.com 2006-02-13 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I really want a copy of Schott's Miscellany, it's hilAAAArious!

[identity profile] felis-ultharus.livejournal.com 2006-02-13 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd never heard of it until your comment. A quick Goog'ling turns up a compendium of trivia, the sort of thing I adore.

Half of novel-writing is being a master of the Three Roads. My favourite piece of trivia right now is that some scientists believe it may rain diamonds on Neptune :)

[identity profile] jenjoou.livejournal.com 2006-02-13 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course in that kind of environment diamonds would be worthless... oh well, I was always a saphire girl myself. ^_^

And that is exactly what it sounds like. ^_^

[identity profile] felis-ultharus.livejournal.com 2006-02-15 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
A veritable sapphire princess ^_^

*sorry, couldn't resist*

(Sorry, also, if you got notification for this twice. I accidentally posted under Matt's LJ name)

[identity profile] em-fish.livejournal.com 2006-02-13 05:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Doesn't Tottel's Miscellany sound like a curio shop that sell magical devices in a cobblestone alley in a part of London that only appears during certain phases of the moon?

Yes it certainly does! Let's go shopping there next Chrismuhkwanzayule.

[identity profile] felis-ultharus.livejournal.com 2006-02-13 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Chrismuhkwanzayule

That is my new favourite holiday. It ought to be dropped in a cage with Festivus, so they can duke it out ^_^

My money's on Chrismuhkwanzayule.

[identity profile] seal7.livejournal.com 2006-02-14 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Totally offtopic, but I think something's wrong with that Latin... *language geekery* >_>

If it's primae, shouldn't it be secundae? Is that second or third case? If it's first, shouldn't it be prima? I don't even remember prima as a singular word, isn't that primus? In that case, wouldn't it be primum?

....

*totally confused self now* >>;

[identity profile] felis-ultharus.livejournal.com 2006-02-15 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
I'd hardly be the one to get on your case for going off on tangents :p

I bow to your superior skill in Latin. In my defence, though, I merely lifted the phrases out of the very bad Latin you often find sprinkled in Medieval English texts.

*glad to see you*

[identity profile] seal7.livejournal.com 2006-02-15 06:53 am (UTC)(link)
I don't remember it all that well so who knows, you might just be right with what you pulled out of those... was just wondering, could've been you actually knew >_>

And ya I.... have fallen off the face of the earth it seems x_x

[identity profile] felis-ultharus.livejournal.com 2006-02-15 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Have you been actually cyberspace-deprived, or just in ninja lurk-mode...?

[identity profile] seal7.livejournal.com 2006-02-15 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Chakra-deprived ninja lurker >_>

[identity profile] seal7.livejournal.com 2006-02-16 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Nevermind, that was a Naruto reference, I think... something like energy.

[identity profile] felis-ultharus.livejournal.com 2006-02-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, okay.

I've done some purely superficial reading on chakras. And of course, monks can use chakra power to heal themselves in Final Fantasy games :)