Writing News
It makes me laugh, no really, it does. After reading my manuscript for approximately 59,694 times - both printed off and digitally, with a ruler under each line and zoomed in to make large, as well as being read out loud to myself - last week I STILL found some typos. Here, in all their irritating glory are what they were...
It makes me laugh, no really, it does. After reading my manuscript for approximately 59,694 times - both printed off and digitally, with a ruler under each line and zoomed in to make large, as well as being read out loud to myself - last week I STILL found some typos. Here, in all their irritating glory are what they were...
1. 'We sat on THEY benches' instead of 'We sat on THE benches.' An easily fixed yet irritating error. Grrr.
2. Miss WILKINSON, a small but recurring character throughout both Leeza McAuliffe books found herself being called Miss WILLIAMSON at one point towards the end. I genuinely have no idea what this was about or how it only popped into my eyes at this late stage.
3. The apostrophe in a contraction looked like a six instead of a nine. Like this... He‘s instead of He’s. This is only a problem with the font I'm using for the book. Many fonts don't differentiate between their apostrophes and that's the lesson to take from this - choose a font with no extra challenges.
Anyway, I've resubmitted after the most recent final check and a publication date will be winging its way to me soon.
Culture News
In 2009 a novel by David Nicholls was published. I read it and realised I'd found the genre of the sorts of stories I wanted to write. Friendships, relationships over time, coming of age moments, and the comedy and pathos that go along with all of that. Fast forward to now, and the Netflix series of One Day has dropped. (That's the David Nicholls' story, not one of mine.) It is... and brace yourself for my usual hyperbolic levels... utterly wonderful. It feels very faithful to the book, the characters hook you in, and the nineties vibes told through the music and fashion choices reflect my own youth perfectly. It's a hard recommend from me. Alternatively, I finally watched Fisk, also on Netflix. A funny, sarky, office-based sitcom from Australia. I binged both series over a couple of nights.
Stop press: I have reevaluated my thoughts on risotto. Spread the word far and wide, I've made a mistake. You see, I thought risotto was a bowl of boring stodge. I thought it was something people made to be fancy but was akin to a student meal. Rice and flavours (salt) was what I ate most evenings of my third year at Uni. So IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I found the most gorgeous risotto recipe on Ella Rusbridger's Substack last week. I'm not sure whether my change of opinion is due to this, but it was made with pearl barley rather than rice. And I added miso for umami because I didn't have any dried or powdered mushrooms. But it's basically mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, stock, miso, and barley. Ladle the stock slowly into the pan of ingredients, and there you have it. (For the actual recipe, I urge you to look at Ella's Substack. She could describe cheese on toast and I'd want to cook it.)
Out and About
Despite several re-readings of my book and the beginnings of a cold, I got out and about nonetheless; a low key birthday drinks afternoon in town (low key because the birthday friend pulled out with COVID) and a visit to my parents in North Wales. It's still busy busy busy with the book prep stuff going on, but we can't be working all the time, now can we.
More next week, if you'll have me. Until then...
...have a lovely week, folks.
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