Sunday, April 27, 2008

Finished the first draft

I have finally finished the first draft of the current Viking. I feel that it went very slow. Or maybe it was just me. I certainly did not feel the pressure to write 3k per day which I normally do. It remains to be seen how good this one is once it is revised.
Next week, I should get my revisions for the manuscript that I turned in in January. That's fine. I know how my editor works and I also know her suggestions and thoughts will be easy to follow and be sound.
There are many things to recommend being finished with one manuscript and then going back and revising another. It is a nice luxury to have. In theory it should mean that I have objectivity and can see what needs to be done far quicker. We shall see.
With current Viking, I think the revising will go quickly as well.
It means that I now re-enter the world of Regency/early Victorian which shall be fun. I am currently rereading Christina Hardyment's Behind the Scenes -- Domestic Arrangements in Historic Houses and getting lots of ideas. One interesting bit was about brewing being seen as women's work as it happened indoors. Hence the prevalence of ale-wives during the late middle ages. It is so easy to forget how important ale and beer were. I tend to think of the wine cellars, but the brew house was perhaps more important.
I find myself to be interested in the whole preservation side of cooking. The various larders, rooms and outbuildings that were used and how estates strove to be self-sufficient. It is so easy to forget.
But mostly I am glad to be finished as you can not do revising/editing without a first draft, and that includes the ending...

3 comments:

Cheryl St.John said...

Whoo hoo! That's a good feeling!

Now do you clean your desk? That's usually my process.

Unknown said...

Very well done on reaching the end. Hope you'll be able to take a little bit of time off as a reward!

I'm so with you on the self-sufficiency thing. It always amazes me (and makes me feel guilty) that people managed their supplies so efficiently and economically, when I-- faced with a glut of rhubarb and a freezer-- seem to end up throwing half of it away.

Michelle Styles said...

Cleaning would be an admirable thing.
Iti s the sort of thing that sends me running for the next wip.
India -- I did take time off sort of over the last week...so I am refreshed.