#am revising

[charliejaneanders]

Random writing thought: the best stories are often the ones that only you could have written — but also the ones that you could only write at this one moment.

I couldn't write All the Birds in the Sky from scratch now if I tried. But the me of 2013 couldn't have written The Prodigal Mother either.

[thalialunacy]

I'm finally tackling the point I've been avoiding in revising book 1 -

Editor: Um this is too vague, what does it actually involve?

Me: okay but what would you say if I told you I haven't the foggiest

😭

I know WHY it happened and why it MATTERS in the story, but sometimes that's not enough.

Anybody wanna workshop this with me? Will exchange for services in kind. Or cheerleading. Or a ficlet of your choice. Or whatever.

[rosesutherlandwrites]

A little light accountability posting from the same coffee shop where I used to go when I was struggling with Salty's first draft, as I revise the final pre-submission draft of Daisy: Four defined tasks left on my list, aiming to set them up and knock them down this morning...from there, the rest is nothing but word-count gravy.

[romilly-jay]

The Stand/s We Take

Back at the theatre again this week, this time hoping to see Denise Gough as Amy Fowler in the new theatrical adaptation of High Noon:

I say "hoping" because I once travelled back to London to see Alyson Hannigan on stage, only to *not* see her on stage because - from memory - I'd accidentally booked during her week off (??).

Alyson Hannigan to play opposite Luke Perry in the stage version of When Harry Met Sally | London Theatre

I *did* get to see Luke Perry (who was - perhaps? - the bigger star but not in MY geek universe, being Team Buffy, not Team BH 90210) and I guess he was good because I seem to remember not hating it.

indielondon.co.uk - theatre - When Harry Met Sally, Theatre Royal Haymarket, review

Still, good news for me - Denise Gough *was* on stage and had predictably fantastic presence in what I could probably have realised ahead of time is a tremendously, unsettlingly timely piece about standing up to strong man politics (or - failing to do that).

Vague spoiler alert - the performance is a very different vibe from her turn as Dedra Meero. [Well, okay - both characters are strong, determined women whose singlemindedness might be a problem...]

We've really loved the Andor videos by SWFT - here's their Meero edit:

Andor: Dedra Meero

Sign of great acting (and - naive audiencing??) that I'd be surprised to see the same face creating an utterly credible, vastly different persona.

Also happened for me with Joplin Sibtain (our primary motivation for heading to the Barbican to see the very good, very panto-ish, very Christmas Season-al Twelfth Night starring Samuel West, Freema Agyeman and Michael Grady-Hall). Gentle giant Brasso was - in that new context - a dangerous, unpredictable, genuinely terrifying drunk.

Back to High Noon -

Headliner Billy Crudup was also convincing as the verge-of-retirement town marshal who can't quite put down his badge once he hears that murderous Frank Miller is arriving for him on the noon train.

But shoutout for the standout surprise of the evening - Rosa Salazar as Helen Ramirez was IMO absolutely matched to Denise Gough. It was deeply pleasurable to get to watch not one but two powerhouse female performances - and scenes where they intersect absolutely crackled.

[To clarify - I was expecting this from DG but hadn't really expected that anyone else on the stage would match her intensity. I thought they were fantastic as counterpoints and alternatives to one another.]

Full cast announced for 'High Noon' in the West End | London Theatre

[mollyringle]

It has been a slow writing-and-revising season, what with...(gestures at everything). But in a few months I hope to unveil ARCs of the queer urban fantasy novel that takes its inspiration from an insane, affectionate mashup of these three fandoms*. Maybe the world needs some cozy crack like this? I hope? Anyway, that's what I'll be serving.

*surely you know, but: The Untamed (MDZS/CQL), Moulin Rouge, and Howl's Moving Castle

[coffeeismycallsign]

I’m on the schedule for 15:00 to fly but I might get rained out. VFR only for me :(

Until then it’s staring at ForeFlight, praying for better weather, and revision time.

[chronicallydragons]

Who thinks I can finish revisions on my MG Werewolf WIP by Saturday evening at the end of this full moon cycle???

[shelby-bach-books]

I’ve been writing and revising the same novel for the last eight years.

Sometimes this feels heavy. It’s impossible to struggle with something for so long and not feel discouraged. From draft one to draft now, there has been a sea change. I’m no longer the person I was when I first wrote “Chapter One,” so it often feels like I’m rearranging words written long ago by someone else.

Because I am bringing so many new experiences and memories into it, every character in every scene hits me differently, and I shift the sentences to match.

I do this, because I still love every scene that remains—and every character too.

And the more I think about this, the more this seems like a very small, very personal miracle.

With all that we have weathered in the last eight years, it is easy to see what we have given up, what we once had and what we now miss. We can reach for a memory and want to live inside it—that easier time we’ve lost.

So, how remarkable and how important to find something that I loved then and discover it still present.

This love was there then and it’s still here now—weathering the bumps and bruises right along with me.

So, sweet ones, tell me—if something springs to mind:

What loves have accompanied you through the years?