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The end of the first draft is in sight, which means that the first draft may well not be the 55K I envisioned. There’s a lot to add in and sharpen so we’ll see what the word count is finally. I expect there will be some whacking also. Right now we’re looking at a usual first draft. Ain’t no one seein’ this baby until we make it fit for human consumption. But it’s coming along. There’s been some draft magic. For example, Nonna stopped being Bryon’s grandma and turned into my junior high librarian. Bianca is a much more likeable character than I envisioned. And I still think Duane Johnson is my best choice for Leo.

Paul, you’ll be interested to know that an incarnation of Georgie Porgie’s, complete with car show, seems to have worked its way into the book as well.

Word count!

36,184 / 55,000 (65.8%)

That’s from yesterday, so I still have to get on today’s.

***

Trivia. The bad centaur is Chiron. Does anyone know what other thing Chiron does that is important in the Hercules myth?

I’ll try to post a snippet next time, if anything snippet worthy presents itself. I have to say it’s both good and bad to have the splint off. Good for typing. Bad for, well, anything that involves bending your elbow or rotating your arm. Overall, I think an improvement.

Gotta write.

Catherine

First, two days of work make the Herc-o-meter grow substantially!

35,019 / 55,000 (63.7%)

Trivia: The answer to yesterday’s trivia. Hercules’ centaur friend is Pholus. He visited Pholus before he went out to kill the Erymanthian Boar. During this visit, Hercules made a centaur enemy. Do you know his name?

***

I’m at the hospital, so I don’t want to capitalize this computer. I came over for x-rays, and now I’m waiting for a friend’s lumpectomy/biopsy. My news is good: I get to take my splint off on Sunday. Then I get to wear the sling more often, and work on my mobility. No driving for another three weeks, though.

We’ll see how Michelle does after her operation.

See you guys with more words, and an outcome tomorrow.

Catherine

Go to this link. It’s about good writer hygiene, or habits, if you will.

Gaining Good Writing Habits

Courtesy of Jay Lake and of course, MH Bonham.

I just spent the last three hours working on the book. Dictating a book is very different than writing. Lots more mistakes made, and I let it get away with more mistakes. It’s tiring. I didn’t get as much done has I’d hoped, but I did get yesterday’s word count, and about half of today’s. What remains to be seen is if I get tougher, while I’m doing it.

The last thing I want to do right now is be witty, so I’ll just give you the word count.

32,076 / 55,000 (58.3%)

All right, a little trivia. What is the name of Hercules’ centaur buddy?

Catherine

Good morning, everyone.

This is me using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It’s wonderful. My arm doesn’t hurt at all! It’s also very easy to use.

I think it’s going to speed up my writing time. A lot. Sure, I have to get used to making mistakes and correcting them, but since I have a friendly, Midwestern accent, I tend to speak clearly. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is also making me more careful about how I speak.

I suppose I will also become a better proofreader, because I’m using this program. Tomorrow I will be home writing all day. I will use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to move forward on the book. It’s not a perfect solution. I don’t think I can get angsty and dramatic and act out scenes, but if I think about the scenes. I can say them in a measured way that captures their content well.

Hmmm… I wonder how Dragon NaturallySpeaking will spell an exploding sound. My first experiments, show me not too well.

I’m done showing off. See you later with the Herc-o-meter.

Catherine

Bwah hah hah! There was an explosion tonight, chemistry teacher approved. It has to be finessed, but still…groovy.

Word Count. Over 30K.

30,503 / 55,000 (55.5%)

Tonight’s trivia: Can you describe why Geryon was so unusual? What did he look like?

DNS is cool. Seriously cool. I spent an hour today in occupational rehabilitation doing the tutorial of the software, and it looks like it will help, not just on the novel, but also with writing the curriculum and getting things around for work.

Jayne, my rehab coach, has already put in an order to get the software on my machine stat. Soon I’ll have people wondering who I’m talking to in my little office. Alas, no more music during work time. 😛

I’ll be back later today with some kind of word count. Hope your stories are flowing, and your elbows are whole.

Catherine

ETA: It’s on the work computer. I’ll get it set up by Weds for sure.

Things are taking a decidedly supernatural turn in HH:PW.

Word Count:

29,238 / 55,000 (53.2%)

Yesterday’s trivia one more day: Why did Hercules have to undertake the 10 (12) labors? What did he do that caused him to need to do penance?

Herculean Wisdom:

“And what you show me after all those years is yet again that you cannot be trusted to treat a woman with respect, when she is easily, worthily your equal.”

Leo put his hood down. “You wouldn’t want me to yield to you without a match, would you?”

“That is not our way. Will you steal from me again?”

“I swear that that was for Eurystheus, and it was never my idea.”

“A man is no better than the ideas he carries out, regardless of who he carries them out for,” said Polly.

Remember, a man is no better than his actions.

Some information about the arm. There still remain some inconveniences, but we’ll take them.

1. No pin. No surgery. Everything is staying nicely in place.
2. No cast.
3. The splint stays on for 2 weeks. Then I just have to stay in a sling and work on more mobility and rotation.
4. New x-rays next Friday to see how we’re doing.
5. Cleared to type by doctor, but must make sure that arm is good and stable when I do it.
6. Irony! Only back two fingers really reach key board due to cast. 🙂 So will still look into recognition software. Meanwhile, we are making a slow return to the first draft of Hulk Hercules. If I type 1130 words per day for the rest of September, I can still make my goal.

Herc-o-meter:

28,065 / 55,000 (51.0%)

Trivia: Can you tell me why Hercules had to undertake his labors in the first place? What was the tragedy in his life that led to his penance? (Hint: It wasn’t breaking his arm…)

Tomorrow no Tamago. Doctor time. Be sure we’ll ask about typing. And yes, Sonya, I will follow doctor’s orders, regardless of good news or bad.

Monday I’ll visit work force development for a demo of Dragon Naturally Speaking and some left handed typing training. It’s handy that Kirkwood has a rehabilitation department for folks who have acquired handicaps. Yup, me for a bit. So, if you have to back your lawnmower off a drop, you should fly away from the mower, not have it land on you, and work at a place with occupational rehab.

See you with more info weekendish. Thanks for all of you who helped with info about Dragon and your experiences.

Catherine