Matthew S. Rotundo's Pixeltown

Finished the rewrite of “The Winter Palace” last week, making Magic Meter look thus:

Alert readers will note that I managed to cut about 500 words.  That’s . . . OK, I guess, considering that I’d added a fair amount of stuff, too.  That I ended up with a net loss of verbiage is a small victory.  I still think the piece is too long, though.  I’m sure my suspicions will be confirmed when it gets back from its ritualistic evisceration beta read.

Oops.  Sorry about that.  Freudian slip, doncha know.

Ye Olde Obligatory Snippet:

She spun and hurled the rock at Gan.  He ducked; it hit the wall behind him and clattered to the floor.  He reared back, hissing, mouth open, fangs bared.

She hadn’t intended to throw the rock at him, but her rage at his deception boiled over like water in a pot left on the fire for too long.

The two faced each other, Gan hissing, Jessica standing with her hands curled into fists, chest heaving.

Next up . . . um, I’m not really sure.  A bit of biz to take care of, natch—database updates, sending out mss, et cetera.  But after that, I’m kinda wide open.  There’s still Rewrite Project #3, aka Apocalypse Pictures Presents, but I’m fairly tired of rewrites at this juncture.  I need to produce some new copy.

Given that we’re already past the halfway point in the year, it would seem well past time for me to start a new novel.  Not sure what that would be, though.  I have a few ideas rattling around in the old noggin, but that’s all they are at this point.  So it seems a drawing board is in my future.

No updates for Write Club.

And I’m gone, baby.  Gone.

Writerly inertia threatened to claim another victim (me) last week, but at nearly the last minute, I lowered my shoulder into that damned boulder and pushed it a little further uphill.  And so I can present the following Magic Meter, for the rewrite of “The Winter Palace:”

Take that, writerly inertia.

I’d hoped to cut some of the length, but so far, I’ve actually added to the word count, mostly by adding some setting and character details.  Hey, those are good things, right?

We’ll see if I can do better in the second half of the story.  There is, as I recall, at least one scene that can be cut, or drastically reduced.  Fingers crossed . . .

Oh, and since we’re here, how about a snippet?

She raised the rock above her head and swung it at the protruding stone with all her might.  It sank into the wall, and with a low grating noise, a crack appeared, and a hidden door swung inward.

It opened only wide enough for one person to squeeze through.  Beyond was a lightless space.  A great puff of dusty air escaped, hitting her full in the face, stinging her eyes and making her cough.  But even as she covered her mouth, she noted the unmistakable coolness, the faint musty smell.

The coughing fit passed.  “Gan,” she whispered.  “I found it.  I found it.”

Write Club update:  Tier one bounce from Arc.  Response time, about six weeks.

The battle continues.