Paper or PC?

I was talking to a friend, a fellow writer, about the different methods she uses when editing. I've learned that no matter how diligent I think I have been, no matter how closely I am sure I've read and re-read the new text, I'm unable to effectively (without mistakes) edit on my laptop. This makes me sad because my shiny, silver MacBook Pro is a haven for fancy editing-type paraphernalia and programs all just waiting for me to use them the way they were meant to be.

I have to print out a copy of the chapter or passage that I'm working on, take my trusty mechanical pencil in hand and start marking. If I try to make my edits in Word or Scrivener without paper assistance, mistakes abound. Not just tiny typos--big giant WTF could that sentence possibly mean type errors. I find it a strange quirk because I can write spreadsheets, insert formulas, check and double check the authenticity of the data and all without having to print a hardcopy. Why, doesn't this perk/talent/quirk transfer to the written word? Is it a 'numbers versus verse' anomaly?

I try to be as green as the next person by recycling paper or re-using the edited chapters as scratch paper for the kids math homework, but I get the feeling that many many trees might have to sacrifice themselves for my cause. Sorry, can't help myself. Wish things were different.

What is the most effective way for you to edit? On paper or via your computer? A combination perhaps?

I'm sure that this Nike commercial featuring Roger Federer is not new, but I only just found it and find it hilarious:

I'm sure that many of us aspiring writers feel just the same way as Roger's "coach" (love that guy from Flight of the Conchords) when we think of or encounter the masters in our genre.

Enjoy it.

Nature versus Nurture

Last night I watched my least favorite matchup of tennis players:  my perennial favorite Venus Williams contesting the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open against her sister, Serena.  Venus matches up well against Serena in many ways with her groundstrokes, net coverage and movement.  Although Venus has the bigger serve (she's sent a 129mph laser beam at some hapless player), Serena's serve is more solid, consistent and fluid.

While watching the match, I began to ponder the differences between them and wondered what factors made them into the very different players that they are today.  I mean, of course they're sisters, raised in the same household, coached by the same parents on the same subpar courts in Compton, CA and probably given the same fitness regime and discipline.  I was puzzled and then it occured to me that Venus, who burst upon the scene as a precocious ten-year old prodigy is the natural talent while Serena is the force who was molded, like a perfect Frankenstein's monster.  Venus is a gifted athlete, tall and lithe who from a very young age has always been naturally athletic.  Serena on the other hand, grew from being the small, runty sibling who had to work hard to create her giftedness.  It's strictly my opinion, but I think that it's the key to why Venus has difficulty with her shots when they break down.  If you're used to just being able to do something naturally and then an unexpected occurence interferes with that fluidity (like being injured), I imagine it's probably harder to compensate or adjust.  Serena's groundstrokes don't break down easily because she's had to hone her craft and is probably more used to making adjustments.

My convoluted metaphor of the sisters started me thinking about writers who are born versus the ones who are made.  Nature versus nurture, if you will.  On a fan fiction board that I frequent, there are several young authors who are exceptionally talented.  One of these authors wrote a story at the tender age of 15 that I believe rivals any literary effort in print today.   If my theorizing has any validity, then she's a natural talent and probably much like Jane Austen, who wrote two of her most popular novels, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, before she was even 22 years old.  The exuberant genius  of both those works came from a woman who'd been writing since she was even younger and obviously had an affinity for it from an early age.  So Austen would fit into the nature category.

I've chosen J.R.R. Tolkien and his body of work beginning with The Hobbit and progressing with The Lord of the Rings trilogy as my example of nurtured talent.  Tolkien worked in and around the literary arena after returning home from the war and before becoming a professor at the University of Leeds.  So, he was fully mature once his body of work came to the forefront and biographical details show that he spent a great deal of time writing those epics.  I see him nurturing his considerable talent, honing his craft and producing the great fruit of that labor in his excellent world building reflected in the tales of Middle Earth.

Returning to my pseudo-analogy--are good writers born or made?  Can working on craft enhance an inborn talent or can an equally great tome be gleaned from the hard work and attention paid to the technical aspects of writing?  I think so.

Score!

In my research for the moving target that is my current plotline, I struck gold yesterday.  At the local library, I found a wealth of information on the Carnac stones which are megaliths much like Stonehenge, but these are located in Britanny.  Little do they know that they are playing right into my grubby little myth-altering hands.

I'm combining cultures and utilizing shared mythologies in ways that will probably have some scholar screaming for my little finger, but don't worry.  I'll have my stock in trade answer ready for all the naysayers, which is 'lighten up--it's fiction.'  Not that I'm anticipating a storm like the one that has followed the author who wrote her fictional account of Aisha, the young wife of the prophet Mohammed.  And, since there's no one haunting my doorstep asking to publish my drivel, it might just be a moot point.  Where was I?  Oh yes, my myth-bending and plot which is wildly careening out of control with each passing day.  Every day I scribble more action-filled scenes that have nothing to do with advancing my storyline and thus are just overblown navel-gazing for me.    Fortunately, I am getting better at the self-editing.

I'm just glad to have found what I was looking for and to have it fit so perfectly with my wicked and warped plans is just the spark I needed to write this weekend.  

AND, Venus won the WTA Tour Championships without losing a single match.   She handed her sister a bagel in their match before beating two more opponents to claim the title.  Nice work and she totally deserved the 1.34 million dollar purse.  Did I just type that?  It looks so ridiculous in actual words, lol.  But I'm sure that those are Venus' sentiments about the loot.    That said, the dark days between the end of the tennis season (now) and the Gold Coast tournament brings on withdrawal for us die-hard tennis nuts.  So, get ready for the whining and forgive accordingly.

Playing Catch Up

I'm finally almost all caught up after a harrowing last ten days or so.  With the advent of a new school year looming large, I had the misfortune of coming down with a very nasty flu.  The headache, dizziness and nausea that accompanied the fever and chills, made staring at my computer screen an exercise in pain.  So reading, typing, blogging--all no go's.  

I did get to watch a fair amount of tennis though.  Even though my fave lost to her pesky little sister in the quarterfinals, I'm not completely unhappy with the results of this years final grand slam.  Serena wears the mantle of world domination in the terrordome much easier than Venus, so I'm happy that Serena not only won at Flushing Meadows, she also regained her number one ranking.  Now if Federer can win today, then all will be right with the tennis world.

Now that I'm recovered, it's back to research mode for me.  I feel like a slacker because I'm researching three separate periods so that the story thread I've come up with doesn't sound too crazy, but I'm anxious to just get the words down on paper.  I am utilizing my journal to write down the ideas that haven't been fleshed out just yet, but let's hope that I can stay on message and not launch into a parallel history of the world through my own slightly myopic eyes.  

I promised one of my friend's that I would blog about my brush with an agent when I was at the RWA national conference but I think it's a long enough story for a post on it's own and I'll come back to that.

Off to Flushing Meadows

The USOpen started today, so it will be tennis madness around these parts, elbowing all the other resident manias for space.  I haven't been able to attend the open for a few years now, but I hold out hope every year that I might be able to attend once again.  Instead, I'll be parked in front of the USA network following my usual regime of screaming, cheering, frowning and biting my nails while my favorites contest  the last Grand Slam of the season.

Between matches, I'll be polishing my latest nemesis, also known as 'the synopsis,' so that I make my manuscript a compelling read.  For the contest that had the earlier submission date, I'm just glad that the synopsis is not judged because I'm sure that the judges might feel the need to suggest a prescription to help improve my writing.  But, my lovely friend Marilyn, rode to my rescue and sent a wonderful guide sheet that outlines getting all of the principal characters GMC and resolution down.  Fingers crossed that I can encapsulate my complicated plot and make it flow.

That's Five for Fighting

So Venus Williams put aside her concern for her little sister's feeling for about two hours and won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles title for the fifth time.  She's also made it to the final of that tournament seven of the last nine years.  That's quite the achievement and just proves that she is probably the greatest grass player of her generation and with that wingspan and serve, I might make the case to name her the GOAT on grass.  As a consolation for taking the big dish from her sister, she teamed with her to also win the ladies doubles title.  It was a great weekend for me and I didn't have to  strike a single ball.

Now for the men's single's title--Rafael Nadal wrested the title from Roger Federer in an epic final.  I wanted Roger to win but Rafa deserved the win--he played within himself and showed the kind of toughness that bodes for nothing but success.  Congratulations to him and let's hope that Roger can bounce back and win the USOpen.

Watching matches instead of washing clothes

It's the early rounds of the Championships at Wimbledon and I alternate between being parked in front of my television watching matches or parked in front of my monitor following the scorelines. There's an excellent blog on the website called 'As it Happens' manned by the effervescent Drew Lilley which never fails to entertain. Another of my favorite tennis blogs is in the blogroll, GOTOTENNIS. It's the Federer nation over there, but very balanced and entertaining in respect to all the other players too.

My all time favorite, Venus Williams, won her match this morning but not without a bit of a struggle early on. The early rounds have produced some fabulous tennis--the Ivanovic/Dechy ladies match yesterday and even the Safin/Djokovic pummeling as well. The hunky Russian played as beautifully as if it were 2000 all over again.

An added benefit to watching the matches live, even with the time difference, is that I can get up early, get a healthy dose to feed my tennis addiction and then before the afternoon is too old, get started on the housewifery. Everybody wins--I get to watch tennis and still have time to make dinner without getting the fish-eye from the men of the house.