April 23, 2007 | One Night Stand, lame jokes, writing
So the next thing I did was to analyse the content for repetition.
In my word document, I highlighted all the bits that were about the romantic relationship, and tried to see whether they had the same structure. I noticed that two chapters began the same way, with my narrator summing up the fact that time had passed, in a similar fashion–so I changed that.
I noticed that the hero kept on meeting up with the heroine and offering her food (he’s a pastry chef, yum), and while I like that in a man, I decided to change one of those incidents so that it happens somewhere else and he doesn’t offer her food–instead she has to grovel a bit (hooray!). Altering the pattern there actually makes the character arc better, because before the hero came to make the peace, whereas now the heroine has to do it herself.
I’m going to go through it again looking for more structural similarities.
Mostly right now though, I’m tired. Fecklet was up from 3-5 am with teething troubles and itchy skin and although it’s only 8.20 pm, I’m wrecked. I’m going to bed to read a book on eczema. (How exciting.)
Oh. And it’s Shakespeare’s birthday. I could quote some Shakespeare for you, but as I do that on a daily basis in my day job, I’ll skip it. Instead I’ll offer you a great joke:
Shakespeare walks into a pub. The barman takes one look and shouts, “Oi, you! Get out of here! You’re bard!”
liz says:
Thanks for the revision insight and even more for the lame joke……must send to 123 yr. old son will be right up his street
Julie Day says:
Oh Julie, that joke is certainly groansome (if that’s a word). Just as bad as some of the Omnipresent cartoons in the London Paper I get.
Lynette Rees says:
Love the joke, Julie.
Shakespeare’s birthday is a very important day for me — it’s also my wedding anniversary. Twenty three years, yesterday.
Coincidentally, I went to Stratford-upon-Avon for my honeymoon and also discovered that that particular date as well as being the Bard’s birthday, my anniversary and St. George’s Day, is also the date Shakespeare died.
Lynette
Kate Hardy says:
I heard that joke one recent Saturday night. And if I told that to my kids they’d shriek “Martha”… *g*
Hope you got a better night’s sleep.
Julie says:
Was that joke in the Dr Who episode?? I forgot about that.
Lynette, I love the idea of getting married on Shakespeare’s birthday and going to Stratford on honeymoon! Was that on purpose?
No, Kate, I did not get a better night’s sleep. Hence the blog post I’m about to put up.
Lynette Rees says:
No, we didn’t plan it, Julie. It was a complete coincidence. In fact we didn’t know where we going to honeymoon. We just picked out a map and stuck a pin in it.
Lynette
Lynne says:
Wow Lynette, that really is a romantic honeymoon, sounds like it was planned!
Poor you Julie, I can remember going without sleep when mine were little. They’d probably never wake me up now!
Lynne.