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the sun is shining, the birds are chirp-perky, i've thrown open all the windows for a nice breeze, the dogs are totally crashed out from a long romp at the park, and i'm having avocado and pretzals for lunch.
it's almost perfect ~ except for the work that's still piled up festerning like a big steaming glob of hoodoo.
it's not so bad actually ~ just tidying up some homework and finishing adr breakdowns (the scripts are written ~ whooho!)
in writing news: taking a step back from Slaughter's Mountain for a day or so. it can get overwhelming and i'm still a bit unsure about the chronology, so i don't want to do anything rash (like cutting and pasting all over the place only to realize that i've made totally absurd choices ~ hey, i've done it before).
i found this 19th Century Baseball resource, but dunno if i wanna buy it. i've paid more for less necessary things, that's for sure. and it would be a good general resource to have since i need it not only for this book, but projects later on. i'll see if i can find it through the library and if it's cool, i'll buy it. that seems fair.
in addition to wanting quotes for James's sections, it would be cool to read since there's a baseball story later on (in Book Three, i think ~ something about a morale-boosting game that turns into a fight over a goat, which then gets shot if i remember correctly). at one point i took the baseball story out because i sorta felt like it was a frivolous detour. i still think it's a bit of a frivolous detour, but it seems sorta weird to have it floating out there as a separate story (still could do it, but we'll see).
i had also removed the Seven Day's Battle from Book One (they didn't fight in it, they were digging trenches around Richmond at the time). and now i think i want to restore it as well. it's the only scene in the book in which any of the characters interacts with anyone of historical significance (Lewis talks to "Uncle Robert" for all of two seconds). i pulled the scene because i didn't feel very confident in my presentation of Lee, but i don't think i do him a disservice, so maybe it's okay. i may look for ways that scene might do double duty to cover other stuff that also got dropped (most notably the selling of Lewis's horse by his father, which is actually pretty important!). i also think the scene is important because it's the point at which we start to see Lewis turning toward something like respect for the superiors.later on he mentions Uncle Robert and i think it's important to know why, of all people, he regards Lee highly when he holds everyone else in such contempt.
i'm trying not to make this book so terribly long, but it's shaping up that way. Book one is 200+ pages and i'm already 100 pages into Book Two and they haven't even got the new recruits in (that doesn't bode well if i'm to get them through the winter, two battles, and on to gettysburg before the end ~ zoinks). on the positive side, i think the story's shaping up nicely and i'm less inclined to worry about the length of it if it reads well.
the other grief i have is dealing with mr. morse. i still have to go back to Book One and try to massage his voice into something more morse-like. i think i'm on the right track with him for Book Two so far, but it's still iffy.
evening plans: soon as i get the decks cleared i'm going to settle in with a movie. i was thinking i ought to watch something Easter-like (i've got three Jesus movies to choose from).
i also have King of Hearts which has got to be one of my favorite foreign films of all time. in fact, it's definitely my favorite foreign comedy and certainly ranks in the top 10 (if not 5!) otherwise. the basic premise: during a wwi suicide mission, a bumbling scottish private (played by alan bates) becomes "king" of an evacuated town overtaken by mental patients escaped from a nearby asylum. it's a wonderfully whimsical exploration of war, sanity, and everything that makes life beautiful. if you ain't never seen this film, i can't recommend it more highly ~ it's sweet and funny and a great anti-war film without being preachy or clichéd. and apparently it ran continuously in some foreign theatres for more than five years (it was made in 1967).
it's almost perfect ~ except for the work that's still piled up festerning like a big steaming glob of hoodoo.
it's not so bad actually ~ just tidying up some homework and finishing adr breakdowns (the scripts are written ~ whooho!)
in writing news: taking a step back from Slaughter's Mountain for a day or so. it can get overwhelming and i'm still a bit unsure about the chronology, so i don't want to do anything rash (like cutting and pasting all over the place only to realize that i've made totally absurd choices ~ hey, i've done it before).
i found this 19th Century Baseball resource, but dunno if i wanna buy it. i've paid more for less necessary things, that's for sure. and it would be a good general resource to have since i need it not only for this book, but projects later on. i'll see if i can find it through the library and if it's cool, i'll buy it. that seems fair.
in addition to wanting quotes for James's sections, it would be cool to read since there's a baseball story later on (in Book Three, i think ~ something about a morale-boosting game that turns into a fight over a goat, which then gets shot if i remember correctly). at one point i took the baseball story out because i sorta felt like it was a frivolous detour. i still think it's a bit of a frivolous detour, but it seems sorta weird to have it floating out there as a separate story (still could do it, but we'll see).
i had also removed the Seven Day's Battle from Book One (they didn't fight in it, they were digging trenches around Richmond at the time). and now i think i want to restore it as well. it's the only scene in the book in which any of the characters interacts with anyone of historical significance (Lewis talks to "Uncle Robert" for all of two seconds). i pulled the scene because i didn't feel very confident in my presentation of Lee, but i don't think i do him a disservice, so maybe it's okay. i may look for ways that scene might do double duty to cover other stuff that also got dropped (most notably the selling of Lewis's horse by his father, which is actually pretty important!). i also think the scene is important because it's the point at which we start to see Lewis turning toward something like respect for the superiors.later on he mentions Uncle Robert and i think it's important to know why, of all people, he regards Lee highly when he holds everyone else in such contempt.
i'm trying not to make this book so terribly long, but it's shaping up that way. Book one is 200+ pages and i'm already 100 pages into Book Two and they haven't even got the new recruits in (that doesn't bode well if i'm to get them through the winter, two battles, and on to gettysburg before the end ~ zoinks). on the positive side, i think the story's shaping up nicely and i'm less inclined to worry about the length of it if it reads well.
the other grief i have is dealing with mr. morse. i still have to go back to Book One and try to massage his voice into something more morse-like. i think i'm on the right track with him for Book Two so far, but it's still iffy.
evening plans: soon as i get the decks cleared i'm going to settle in with a movie. i was thinking i ought to watch something Easter-like (i've got three Jesus movies to choose from).
i also have King of Hearts which has got to be one of my favorite foreign films of all time. in fact, it's definitely my favorite foreign comedy and certainly ranks in the top 10 (if not 5!) otherwise. the basic premise: during a wwi suicide mission, a bumbling scottish private (played by alan bates) becomes "king" of an evacuated town overtaken by mental patients escaped from a nearby asylum. it's a wonderfully whimsical exploration of war, sanity, and everything that makes life beautiful. if you ain't never seen this film, i can't recommend it more highly ~ it's sweet and funny and a great anti-war film without being preachy or clichéd. and apparently it ran continuously in some foreign theatres for more than five years (it was made in 1967).
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