Ugh, why do I always stay up until 2am? And then I don’t get up until ten. Man, I need a job–either that, or more self discipline.
Just a quick post before I hit the sack. I’m making excellent progress with the revision of Mercenary Savior, regularly hitting between 7k and 8k per day. Most of that is polishing work, which tends to go fast, but I’m also rearranging a few chapters, deleting scenes and putting others in a different order.
One thing that’s surprised me a lot so far is how much I’ve managed to cut. The first draft, which I wrote on MS word, was about 135k–which runs around 145k by open office’s (flawed) word count method. The second draft was about the same, the third a little shorter, and the fourth around 120k by open office’s algorithm. By then, I thought it was as lean as I could get it–but no, that’s not the case. It’s all for the best, though; a 100k word novel isn’t nearly as daunting as a 145k monster, especially in science fiction.
Anyhow, today I got some feedback from C.A. Jacobs, a friend from World Fantasy (which she mailed to me…from HAWAII…), and I’m thinking I ought to change the title of this work. She suggested something like “The Fall of Karduna,” but the book is more about the individual characters than the world, so I’m thinking of something like “Saving Stella,” or even reverting back to “Bringing Stella Home.” Any thoughts?
In unrelated news, a ton of job opportunities have been opening up recently. I interviewed for a position with the BYU Political Science department on Monday, and I’ve got another interview with a local marketing company Friday. My sister also says that her work needs a new cook, so that could be good if the other stuff falls through. And as for phone delivery, I’ve got until the 17th to keep up with that.
So, life is good. Writing-wise, I’m having a very productive revision of one of my better works. Job-wise, a lot of promising options seem to be popping up. Social-wise, I’m doing pretty well, too; Utah is a great place to make new friends.
Oh, and English 318 starts TOMORROW! Holy crap, I am excited!!
gnight
I always like Bringing Stella Home. I think it’s more fitting, in a semi-backward kind of way. Maybe there’s some irony there? I don’t really know. Mercenary Saviour, on the other hand, smacks of just a touch of pretentiousness, or maybe something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. Of course, these are just MY impressions, but for whatever they’re worth, here they are.
GYAH YOU ARE PROBABLY IN ENG318 RIGHT NOW. I AM SO JEALOUS.
Also, congrats on all the success and progress! I really do like Bringing Stella Home as a title. If you’re going to change it, change it back. 😀
Let me know how writing class goes! If you take any intriguing notes, I’d love to see them!
-Laura,
still in Kansas, unfortunately.
You have a class with Sanderson? Jealous.
Anyway, I agree that the title Mercenary Savior is a bit pretentious. Really cool, but pretentious.
But I can’t really say that I like Bringing Stella Home. It sounds like a Newberry book. 🙁