Ink Thinkin

Random thoughts from Dy Larson of Ink Think, freelance editor and copywriter

Monday, November 21, 2005

Revisionism Run Amok

This is just silly and wrong.

The title bar above is linked to a site giving more of the story. The gist of it is that the publisher of Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon" recently decided to airbrush a jacket photo of the illustrator because he has a cigarette in his hand; they had it removed.

This is an issue on a number of levels. One at a time, in no particular order:

Tampering with a Classic

Personally I can't stand "Goodnight Moon". I bought the board book version (which, incidentally, doesn't have author/illustrator photos on the back) for my daughter because a number of people recommended it. Obviously I will, most likely, never be a picture book author. Fortunately for me, while my daughter likes the book ok it is far from a favorite. Woo-hoo.

That said, a lot of people do think this is a great children's book, one of the greatest. It has stood the test of time since the airbrushed print run was a 60th anniversary tribute edition. It is a 'classic' and thus should not be tampered with. I agree. It is not our place as a society to add PC sensibilities to an artistic work once the artists aren't around to stop us.

On the other hand, it IS just an illustrator photo, so I, personally, don't think the that this is a valid argument. They aren't tampering with the content or the classic illustrations.

The Smoking Thing

This one holds NO weight with me. I'm in my 30s and I've known cigarettes were bad for you since before I was old enough to know what a cigarette was. Does anyone really believe that a kids reading a picture book (if they are even old enough to read it to themselves) are going to take up smoking because the old guy on the jacket photo has a cigarette (a barely discernible one) in his hand? Yea, right.

Tampering with Historical Records

Here is the meat of the issue. Does it truly matter if they alter the illustrator pic to remove the cigarette? No. Is anyone going to take up smoking because this guy's pic shows him with a cigarette? Not likely.

Is it in any way okay to alter a historic document or photograph to 'adjust' it to current sensibilities? No. Absolutely 100% no no no!

Photos are taken, stories are written; they are what they are. People who 'adjust' records from the past are creating a lie for future generations. I'm trying to find a more eloquent way to say this but I think that the above covers it all. Our responsibility to the future is to keep an accurate record of our times, warts and all.

So, if you get a minute and feel strongly about the revision of our past, click the link in the title bar and vote at goodnightreality.com.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Totally OT

If you look in the bookbag to the right you'll see I'm (re-)reading HP5, Order of the Phoenix.

I was one of those Amazon pre-orders that HAD to have HP6 delivered to my door the day it was released, but, um, I actually still haven't read it, despite being the proud owner for over 4 months now.

I am a fan and I hate the wait between books--I much prefer to read series after they're completed so there isn't a wait-for-the-next-book delay. So, in order to savor each new HP, starting with book 5 I began making myself re-read all the preceding books in the series first. This serves as a refresher for me on what's going on, and drags out the process. This year I was aided by a friend who got me reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series a couple weeks before HP came out, and, well, see note above about reading a series.

I just finished Harry Potter 4 two days ago. I am a regular geek, not just a word geek, thus I am just now arriving home from a midnight showing of the Goblet of Fire movie.

No More Reading the Book Right Before the Movie For Me!

I am surprised by how disappointed I was, I don't generally have high hopes for movies of beloved books, even though they've done pretty well with HP...

I mean, yea, it was cool, the effects just keep getting better and better, and seeing the more kid-like side of these kids was nice (hard, since I'm in my 30s and still think feel like a teen myself). I just couldn't believe how much character was left out! So many seeds of things to come were left unplanted. If I saw that movie without reading the book I'd be seriously confused, particularly by the pivotal scene at the end where Harry escapes; the movie's explanation was essentially nonexistent.

It was still quite good, and yea, I very nearly cried when they offed a character and I will buy it; might even go see it again, but somehow I feel less than satisfied. Too many threads cut from the weave, I think, and some added that totally don't fit the pattern. It's almost 4am and I'm rambling, but I felt a need to share.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Just Like the Tortoise

that's me...

Slow 'n Steady wins the race. Not the NaNo race, I'd need to be alot steadier, and a bit faster...

I *did* make a little more headway today--plus spending 3 hours digging through a dusty closet at my grands for original source material.

( ##============== )
7,643 / 50,000 : 15.3%


Is it possible to be allergic to old, disintegrating binding glue?

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Sigh

I'm not giving up. I'm not.

It's just that my head just hasn't been in the right place for this since that headache on Wednesday. I figure I can't be going crazy cuz then I wouldn't be afraid I was going crazy--right? I just know it has been a whole lotta NOT FUN to be me the last few days.

So I blog and wait for the blahs to go away while reading my research materials and wishing I had a clue what to write. Thank goodness this is just for me. On the other hand, that's part of the problem, too. The stuff that's just for me just isn't coming.

My clients? Their stuff works just fine.

Maybe next year I'll get dh to pay me to do NaNo? I'd let him pay me in Godiva Dark Chocolate Ice Cream.

No, I'm not quite that easy, all others pay cash.

No NaNo meter tonight because its 11:15pm and it hasn't changed from the one previously posted.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Stopping for Direction

Yes, direction. Not directionS.

I took two days off my NaNo writing this week. I got things done, though.

I answered some ads for writing/editing/proofing. I updated my website. I settled the whole copyright infringement thing. I got some invoicing done. Typed up and mailed the service agreement for a new client. So, not unproductive time, just not NaNo writing time.

Oh, yea, and I did some more reasearch. I know, I know, getting bogged down in the details...

All this research has finally helped figure out where I'm going. I get off a tangent sometimes, left totally to my own devices, but I've got a handle on it now. Sat down tonight after a day of research and reading and banged out 2 1/2% of that 50K in about an hour or so. It's not enough to get me caught up, but it's a definite improvement over my 200-word days.

In my defense it's also late and I'm tired. I should have sat down to write as soon as I got back from walking the dog, when it all coalesced (isn't that a fun word?) in my brain. But I had to get my LOST fix, I didn't watch it last night cuz of the headache. Bless Dish Network DVR :-)

Oh yea, the numbers:

( ##============== )
7,120 / 50,000 : 14.2%

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Progress: Not Much

Well... Discovered today how much fun my mom has been having all these years as I learned what a genetic propensity for migraines means in *my* life. Mostly that I was about as useless as I've ever been and I dunno what I'm gonna do when the leftover prescription motrin from my recent dental work runs out...

In the meantime, a headache today is no excuse for not having written on my project for two days. I just don't know what direction to move in, don't know WTH I'm doing. Maybe I'm not cut out for fiction? Hell, maybe I'm not cut out for writing? I can live with that, I like editing. At any rate, made myself do a little before my motrin wears off, so here I am now:

( ##============== )
5,862 / 50,000 : 11.7%

I had the cool pretty html meter up here, but, well, blogger kept cutting up the picture into little bits and I couldn't figure out why... Plus I remembered what happened to the other meter guy and thought I'd go the doesn't-need-anyone-else's-bandwidth-to-work route.

Just did the math. If I'm going to make 50K I need to do 2207 words/day from now on. And write earlier in the day since I'm getting most of mine done between 11p-2a, and after midnight my time NaNo considers to be the next day :-( . In my mind it's not the next day yet til I've gone to sleep!

Monday, November 07, 2005

Rearing It's Ugly Head:

Plagiarism.

One of my many lists had a reminder post over the weekend to periodically check copyscape to make sure your site content stays yours. I've checked a few times now and the only thing that has come up to date is an ad I have in a VA Directory.

Not so yesterday. Some unknown person was so lacking in originality that rather than take the time to create an original bid/proposal on unnamedfreelancejobsite.com they wasted what was probably hours drilling down through search engines to find my site an lifted my home page opening copy damn near word for word, other than changing the suffix on a couple verbs.

And, of course, unnamedfreelancejobsite.com is based in a foreign country and requires you to set up an account with them to register a complaint. Uh, no. All my email to webmaster or hostmaster at unnamedfreelancejobsite.com bounces. So I did the WhoIs thing and sent a complaint to their web host. I felt bad doing so, but couldn't find another way to handle it. I know the people at unnamedfreelancejobsite.com are not the plagiarist, but they made it impossible for me to get in touch with them about it. I'm betting their hosting service won't have that problem.

I wish I were flattered, I was for about 5 seconds (til I saw how bad the rest of the bid was). As it is I'm just annoyed. I've already had to waste way more time on this than I should, with no satisfactory conclusion as yet.

Oh... Bad Dy... I also wiggled around their site and the user's listing and found an email addy for him and sent a personal cease-and-desist asking him to remove the content himself (yes, him, I was just trying to be oblique before).

Oh, yea, and I got a little more NaNo-ing done last night after posting and broke 5K words before I went to bed. Yay me!

U P D A T E:

I heard back from the site and their host, who was able to get in touch with them. The ad the person using my content bid on is closed but the page is still publicly accessible so I thanked them for their help and asked them to remove the four sentences of my content he used and expressed a fervent desire that they reprimand the user for this behavior. We'll see...

U P D A T E #2:

Woo Hoo! The overseas site has suspended the plagiarist user and removed his bid with my content from their site! Score one for the original (ink) thinker! ;-)

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Waay Down... and Up

Number of words written on day 4: 389
Number of hours spent on background research: 5.7
Number of times I made myself stop reading research material to write: 0

Which probably explains my lack of progress. I've read about this problem on the forums, starting in one direction, moving in another, unexpected direction, then getting so caught up in the research of the new direction you neglect to write.

I'm trying to break the cycle; I made myself do a page this morning before I booted up the computer. Of course, when I write longhand I use a steno pad and have big handwriting, so a page is only about 120 words or so. Not that I've sat and obsessively counted words on those little lined pages or anything. Nope, not me.

So, off to the library for a quick visit to the research librarian, then a friend's son's birthday party, then home to scribble the night away. I have a feeling I'm not gonna get ANY of the chores done, y'know, the big stuff I sent the dh and kid away so I could get done... But, I can live with that.


NaNoWriMo 2005: 3408/50000

PS - Even if you're not interested in World War II, which I wasn't til about two days ago, you should read The Greatest Generation and/or The Greatest Generation Speaks. Tom Brokaw is not normally my cup of tea but this is good stuff--the last of the primary sources for what WWII was REALLY like, not the whitewashed historical version, are dying, we should listen to what they have to say.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

In Trouble Already

Two days into NaNo and already I'm in trouble.

My protagonist has gotten more interesting, 20+ years younger, and is becoming a problem. Her backstory has me hooked, but its not enough to stand alone. I mean, for me it is, cuz she's mine and I love her, but as a story, no, it's just not that cool. I was trying to figure out who she is, and started writing it out, and now all I want to do is explore her background. Then there's the other problem. She's more of an anti-hero than a true protag (the "real" protag is dull as dishwater thus far) but I'm getting attached to her and don't want to write the psychotic break, the one that leads to the real story I started out intending to write.

I can't seem to get to the story I thought I was going to write. It was a germ of a weird idea I had almost two years ago and now I'm questioning my original direction. I still think its a good little germ, like wheat germ, not like the stuff you use anti-bac soap to get rid of, but I'm not sure I can write it. Truthfully I've NEVER been sure I could write it, I was just being prodded by my fellows at SMFS. It started out as an idea for suspense, but I've lost interest in that. I'm thinking I may switch to erotica, keep the character I love and ditch the rest of the original premise. Already.

See what I mean about being in trouble?

NaNoWriMo 2005: 2089/50000

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

NaNoWriMo Begins!

Well, this is it.

I've been editing for months now, writing small pieces for newsletters, generally putting off the creation of original material...

It stops here.

If you've never heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) check out the link above.
No, I'm not sharing my NaNo id here, yet, I'm not quite ready.

A lot of people on one of my writing lists are participating, and I've been inspired. Well, that's the official line. Mostly I think we all have some sort of e-transmitted contagious insanity. So if you find yourself signing up after you read this, well, you were warned!