Sunday, December 3, 2006

So I know what I am, what I do, but what do I need to do it?

Pencil and Paper, quill and parchment, blood on the kitchen floor !!!
Okay seriously - sadly it seems you need to produce legible type the others are okay if you are 1. Beatrix Potter, 2. Shakespeare, 3. dying and need help.
I very quickly discovered that no publishing house will take manuscripts in long hand... there are probably exceptions to this but as a general rule my research would tend to agree that any submission has to be typed, 12pt (Times New Roman or Courier), double spaced, with one inch margins. Now I don't know about you, but my old imperial typewriter has no delete button and I can't tell you how many times I got to the bottom of the page and had to use the white out.... So I invested in a computer... then a laptop, you know for that portability/lifestyle versatility. I love it... then came the printer. and the ink it drinks by the gallon.
And paper... plain white 100gsm nothing coloured,lined,perfumed... gee they take the fun out of it.
Books for research, relaxation, and reading.
A firm surface... I hate it when the bus stops suddenly, or the ferry pitches and rolls. Desk, knee, table, lap... as long as it's stable - deciphering can be a chore if its not.
Five or ten minutes - to write that line, that sentence or thought. They add up over a week.
There you have it... the rest is optional, the music, the chocolate, the coffee....
I almost forgot... a memory stick... it sucks when the computer crashes with your nearly completed work on it...
Tomorrow... the first step to pen on paper...
Have a good one Write a word now, Robyn

1 comment:

Amy Ruttan said...

I have gone through numerous computer crashes. I prefer the long hand, but meh, there's nothing you can do. I am still struck by Holly Jacobs comments from the September meeting "... I'm a word whore for publishers." She's right, there's the love of creating prose, but then there's the reality of pleasing the publisher. I know way off topic, I'm in ranting mood this morning!!! :)