Trying to type copyedit entries into a Word file in case I need to do extra ARCs. Myspace email filling my box and totally confusing me as to how I'm supposed to respond. Inane things happening with utilities and credit cards that keep me on phone or otherwise distracted. And I'm running out of time! Christmas break is almost upon us.
So I'm going to sign off here until after the 1st. Wishing everyone a glorious holiday, much good cheer, and stay safe!!! Hugs...
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Research Never Ends
If I had a memory or organization, maybe research would end at the research stage. Unfortunately, I tend to put markers in books and scribble notes I lose as soon as I finish the first draft. Six to twelve months later, when a copyeditor questions my research, I have to go back and do it all over. Which is why it takes me forever to finish a copyedit, especially when the CE is too lazy to do her own research and nine out of ten of her suggestions are wrong.
So today I played on Google's Book Search and found some fascinating travelogues from the 18th century (which didn't answer my question but amused me greatly). I attempted to track down the source of the song the "Carmagnole" but apparently it's one of those things that just appeared and grew, so I took literary license on that one. And I spent way, way too much time with the on-line version of Chicago's manual of style, attempting to track down comma placements and semi-colons because I'm quite convinced by now that this CE made up her own rules. Now really, how many people have written a sentence that reads like this: "Fine then; don't do it." Seriously, how many people do you know would put a semicolon in a place like this, much less in dialogue? I totally understand that "Fine" can be considered a one-word sentence, but really now! Is this new punctuation, like new math?
So today I played on Google's Book Search and found some fascinating travelogues from the 18th century (which didn't answer my question but amused me greatly). I attempted to track down the source of the song the "Carmagnole" but apparently it's one of those things that just appeared and grew, so I took literary license on that one. And I spent way, way too much time with the on-line version of Chicago's manual of style, attempting to track down comma placements and semi-colons because I'm quite convinced by now that this CE made up her own rules. Now really, how many people have written a sentence that reads like this: "Fine then; don't do it." Seriously, how many people do you know would put a semicolon in a place like this, much less in dialogue? I totally understand that "Fine" can be considered a one-word sentence, but really now! Is this new punctuation, like new math?
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