The Not Happy Thread

My two weeks are just about up, and while I know and think my new boss rocks, the rest and experimentation this past week was pretty awesome. If only we had more holiday like this...

 

"At the end of the day" was voted the most irritating phrase in one of those polls. I think "reach out" tops it for me, but "at the end of the day" comes close.

 

I thought everyone loved the end of the day...

 

I hate rewriting.

I love writing. I love editing. I hate rewriting.

Did I mention I hate rewriting?

 

But...but rewriting is the fun part! That's when the creative stuff happens!

I love rewriting. I don't draw much of a distinction between editing, revising, and rewriting; to me, it's the best part of the whole project. Writing is just figuring out what needs to be said; rewriting is actually saying it.

 

I'd give up if I had to write everything twice!

 

Twice? How 'bout thrice? Fice? Etc.?

And remember, no matter how many times it seems like you're writing it, you're really only writing it once. That's once the right way.

 

I find rewriting - or planning rewrites - really satisfying. I plan to just plough through the first draft of everything, then re-write, but I decided that the first three chapters of one novel were just embarrassing.

 

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So I went to the Final Fantasy pop up shop in London today, and while I was in the queue my dad texted me to ask if I was at work. I told him I was off, so he told me the news.

They had to call the vet to the house to have the family dog put down. He couldn't get up and wasn't eating anymore (arthritis).

Dampened my spirits that is for sure.

 

My brother lost his dog about six weeks ago, in exactly those circumstances.

 

God no. I get it right as much as I can the first time around.

 

That dog saw me into my adult years, so it hit me hard. But what is scary is the date.

The dog we had before him was put to sleep on the 2nd November, all souls night. So to lose the next on the anniversary plus one day is a bit creepy.

 

Holy... How did you know I was thinking of playing that song!?

 

You're one up on me - I don't even like editing! Just the writing is fun. Once I know what happens in the story, I don't want to ever see it again.

 

Ha! Beat you to it!

 

Do you feel the same way about books you read? Just curious because I'm the same way, and I rarely care to reread (or rewatch) things, either. I have like two books that're 'comfort reading' but other than that everything on my shelves is just gathering dust, hahah.

 

I used to re-read books and re-watch movies, but, no, I don't anymore. Haven't for a long time. Once I know what happens, I'm out.

 

I have a hard time fitting this kind of thinking into my brain. To me, books (and movies) are to be loved, revisited, lived in. I'm ecstatic when I find a book I'd like to reread many times. That's my idea of a masterpiece: a book I could happily read for the rest of my life, because it always has something to offer, something to savor. If I could ever write a novel that would make a reader feel like that, I'd be fulfilled as a writer.

 

I can see both sides of this. I have films that I'll never tire of re-watching. But books? I can honestly say that not once have I read the same book twice.

 

If we are healthy and vibrant human beings we go through several changes that make the books we reread speak to us differently, providing that they also have depth. It is a relationship of sorts, and a third entity is likely created.

 

I wish I could do that. I get this weird anxiety when I re-read/watch something, because I could be consuming something new with this time and expanding my horizons! Surely I've re-watched Firefly enough times that I've gotten everything out of it that I'm gonna get


Actual not happy thread material: the spellcheck on libreoffice has decided to stop working. It claims to be working, and I updated the damn thing, but nope. Guess I'll just have to actually type well, like some sort of beast.

 

I'm the same way. Have never ever reread a book. Thought I was weird, but as long as someone is weird with me, it's fine.

 

I have been on an intensive three year self giuded tour of writing craft. When I started, I was promised learning all those ins and outs of writing would do nothing to infringe on enjoying a good book. What a load of crap that was. It's hard to enjoy a good thriller or mystery when you know what would logically come next.