Prize package #1
BECKY
Prize package #2
ANNE
Prize package #3
CLOCKWORKGIRL21
Ladies, please contact me via email or private message within 7 days with your shipping addresses to collect your loot!
And now, the answers.
Quiz #1:
What disease did the imperial children contract at the outbreak of the Russian revolution?- measles
Where and when did the tsar abdicate?
- March 2/15 1917, aboard the imperial train at Pskov (you didn't have to mention the train to win)
- Yakov Yurovsky
- Sverdlovsk
- July 17, 1998
Trick question:
What does “shvibzyk” mean in Russian?
What does “shvibzyk” mean in Russian?
- Absolutely nothing! It doesn't mean imp -- it's a made-up nickname, possibly derived from the German word "schwipsig," which means tipsy.
Ridiculous Bonus Challenge:
This cat's name is Vaska.
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5 Comments on And the winners are...., last added: 6/14/2011
By: Sarah Miller,
on 10/27/2010
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: vanity moment, OTMA, The Lost Crown, Yay, Add a tag
There may still be 8 months to wait for The Lost Crown, but look what I can do with my brand new dust jacket and a great big book* from my own shelves in the meantime:
(*I've left a smidgen of a certain somebody else's great big book peeking out at the bottom. Bonus points if you can ID it.)
The spine is GINORMOUS. And pearly. The little purple square is glossy-laminated, and the title is embossed on the front. Possibly this is crazy, but my favorite part might be the back:
6 Comments on Author-nerdery at its finest, last added: 10/29/2010
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 9/19/2010
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: OTMA, publishing, revision, The Lost Crown, Add a tag
Page proofs for THE LOST CROWN arrived on Friday, and they are prettyful:
Appealing as that is, you know what I looked at first? The back matter. Nerdy stuff like photo captions and bibliography:
I kind of like this page, too:
So. I'm supposed to be correcting the text, not just ogling it. Confession: I'm not the world's greatest proofreader. Ever seen that email that begins,
I can read that without even blinking. (Well, except for where it says "it self" instead of "itself.") I'm much better at spotting formatting goofs -- like misplaced italics and reversed quotation marks -- than spelling errors.
Nevertheless, I'm finding plenty to keep me busy:
270 pages down, 163 to go...
5 Comments on Proofreading, last added: 9/20/2010
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 4/12/2010
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: procrastination, OTMA, Add a tag
Lookit this pretty font I found while I was pretending to be OTMA's* designer instead of its author:
OMG, I LOVES THAT.
But oh wait, it's a latin-cyrillic hybrid font, so look at the dumb things that happen when I add the subtitle:
I guess it's supposed to look exotic and Russiany, but if you are a person who actually reads Russian, this is what your mind says when your eyes try to read those words: D Iovel of Yaomanov Yaussia
OMG, I HATES THAT.
__
*I have neglected to mention that Madame Editor and I seem to have settled on an official title for OTMA. As you may have guessed by now, it's Daughters of the Tsar: A Novel of Romanov Russia.
2 Comments on The trouble with hybrids, last added: 4/12/2010
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 3/15/2010
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: procrastination, OTMA, video, revision, Add a tag
(I'm supposed to be working.)
1 Comments on Don't let the Pigeon Procrastinate, last added: 3/15/2010
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 1/11/2010
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, Books-to-movies, OTMA, Add a tag
Among the goodies under my Christmas tree: the latest fluffed up re-release of Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Popped the DVD into my computer the other night to discover there are 20-some minutes of "restored" footage incorporated into the feature.
pg 189:
pg 194:
pg 195:
[The last teensy line's cut off: "Why?"]
Well. I find myself intrigued and irritated in equal measure. It's always interesting to see what tidbits ended up on the cutting room floor, but to jam it all right back into the film? Blargh. On top of that, the dubbed voices in a few of the restored scenes are downright vomitous.
On the other hand, this makes for a darn good lesson in editing. Since I've got the shorter version more or less memorized, watching the longer cut makes it vividly clear how much you can get away without, in a way that browsing a separate series of deleted scenes doesn't quite convey. Mentally, I'm revved up for the cut to the next scene, the next verse, or even the next line -- and it doesn't come. Instead something extra's elbowed its way in, and to me it feels like tripping over my own feet.
For someone who's trying to cut a manuscript by 15% (and so far achieved only 5%) this is encouraging. As I'm trying to make myself see with OTMA, a single superfluous line can divert the momentum. Fortunately for me, Madame Editor has a hawk-eye for this kind of thing. Click on the thumbnails to have a peek at nips and tucks she made when I asked her to make an example of Chapter 22 and show me how it's done:
pg 189:
pg 194:
pg 195:
[The last teensy line's cut off: "Why?"]
Snip, snip, snip...
(For an altogether different lesson in editing, watch the Bedknobs and Broomsticks horror trailer on Youtube.)
***********************
Currently re-reading:
The Trial
by jen Bryant
0 Comments on Editing with Uncle Walt as of 1/11/2010 8:55:00 AM
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 11/21/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, WIP, OTMA, Add a tag
As far as actual post-its, these last couple weeks aren't so impressive. You could count them on one hand, without even using your thumb. HOWEVER. In the last month since receiving Madame Editor's suggestions I have:
- removed 109 out of 130 post-it flags
- drafted 3 pesky unfinished chapters
- cut somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,248 words (it's hard to know for sure when you're simultaneously drafting at the back and deleting from the front)
- converted 20 chapters from past to present tense (which I swore I wouldn't do)
- rewritten the end (ditto)
I want a cookie. A big one.
*******************
Currently re-reading:
Zel
by Donna Jo Napoli
0 Comments on Post-It countdown, week 4 as of 1/1/1900
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 11/2/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, WIP, OTMA, Add a tag
After one week of revision:
Red: 11
Orange: 5
Yellow: 6
Green: 6
Blue: 2
- Rewriting the first 20 chapters in present tense (maybe)
- Finishing chapters 44 and 45
- Trimming the whole shebang by 15%
Blogging from this quarter might be erratic for the time being. I've got stuff to do.
2 Comments on Post-It countdown, week 2, last added: 11/2/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 10/22/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: OTMA, revision, WIP, Add a tag
Madame Editor has had her way with OTMA.
Two things:
- This manuscript is HUGE. I'd never printed it out myself, so I didn't really understand the scale of this thing. According to the shipping label, it weighs more than my godson did when he was born.
- Madame Editor is SMART. (Even when I don't agree with her.)
What OTMA looks like after I had my way with two pads of Post-It flags:
A nosy reader's guide to Post-It color-coding:
- Red - points where Madame Editor and I disagree
- Orange - stuff I'm willing and able to fix
- Yellow - same as above, but affecting more than just the line or paragraph indicated
- Green - evidence of editorial brilliance
- Blue - quick fixes (typos, deletions, repetitive vocabulary, etc.)
6 Comments on OTMA returns, last added: 10/24/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 8/26/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, WIP, OTMA, Add a tag
Chapter 40, while not exactly vanquished, has finally become something I can stand the sight of. For the first time since, oh, MARCH.
Going to read now...
******************
Currently reading:
Liar
by Justine Larbalestier
1 Comments on WIP update, last added: 8/27/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 7/22/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, WIP, OTMA, Add a tag
The Revise-O-Meter is on the rise again. Keep your fingers crossed.
2 Comments on pssst!, last added: 7/23/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 3/17/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: WIP, OTMA, Add a tag
I have neglected to mention a couple Items of Note:
1. I have an editor again. Yes ma'am, a real live editor of my very own. This editor, it just so happens, was at the acquisitions meeting where OTMA was first pitched and given the go-ahead, and is gung-ho for the project. Plus, she's a fan of War and Peace. This bodes well, indeed.
Madame Editor, as it turns out, has something of a WIP of her own going on -- she's slated for maternity leave in May. Therefore, we concocted a plan whereby I turn over a draft, no matter its condition, on April 1 so we can squeeze in some feedback for me to revise with during her 3-month departure.
2. Fast-forward to the first week in March, when I got a sinus infection that leeched a full workweek out of me, forcing me to admit that I would never be able to revise OTMA to my satisfaction by April 1. This brings us to Plan B:
Rather than panic and scrabble for the next two weeks only to be marginally less unsatisfied with my progress, I offered to gag my inner Rainman and send Madame Editor what I've got RIGHT NOW so we can make the most of the remaining six weeks before her leave. She took the bait (the crazy woman claims to like rough drafts) and I didn't chicken out. Yesterday afternoon, I closed my eyes and hit "send."
Rather than panic and scrabble for the next two weeks only to be marginally less unsatisfied with my progress, I offered to gag my inner Rainman and send Madame Editor what I've got RIGHT NOW so we can make the most of the remaining six weeks before her leave. She took the bait (the crazy woman claims to like rough drafts) and I didn't chicken out. Yesterday afternoon, I closed my eyes and hit "send."
So in a sense, I'm on OTMA-haitus. Except for the part where I do fun things like translate primary sources and work on my compilation of self-editorial remarks to add to Madame Editor's reactions....
*****************
Currently reading:
Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell
3 Comments on OTMA update, last added: 4/6/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 2/17/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, WIP, OTMA, Add a tag
It seems the WIP and I are having a difference of opinion. I would very much like it to hold steady at 44 chapters. (You may recall that back in April I acquiesced to similar demands and upped it from 40 to 44.) The WIP, however, is now lobbying for 48. FORTY-EIGHT, folks. And I'm afraid the WIP knows what it's talking about. Again.
This may require some primitive tools -- things like paper, scissors, and an expanse of living room floor. Also, St. Clair Highballs, and plenty of 'em.
Aside: for the love of Pete, isn't there a synonym for "chapter"?
********************************
Currently watching (yes, watching):
Harvey
3 Comments on 4 x 12 = ack, last added: 2/20/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 1/20/2009
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Today in history, OTMA, politics, Add a tag
In light of the history behind my WIP, when I look at the four presidential daughters - Jenna and Barbara Bush and Sasha and Malia Obama - I can't help but think...
90-odd years ago, the Bolshevik party achieved regime change by gunning down a man, his wife, their son and four daughters, and four staff members in a cellar in Siberia. Today in America, the Democratic party did it with music, poetry, and prayer. No matter what you think about this president or the last one, that's the kind of change we can all take pride in.
2 Comments on Getting a little snurpy, last added: 1/22/2009
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 11/17/2008
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: revision, WIP, Miss Spitfire, OTMA, Add a tag
In lieu of the Revise-O-Meter, which is proving to be at least three-quarters useless, I've come up with some statistics that might actually quantify a bit of progress.Miss Spitfire: 49,083 words
OTMA (rough draft):
75,747 words
OTMA (currently):
86,285 words
No wonder this is taking so long. I feel a little better now.
3 Comments on For the sake of comparison, last added: 11/19/2008
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 10/9/2008
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: WIP, laments, OTMA, Add a tag
Perhaps you've noticed that things haven't been going so well for the Revise-O-Meter. So have I. Believe me.
*****************
Currently reading:
The Magic Thief
by Sarah Prineas
1 Comments on Urg, last added: 10/9/2008
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 10/7/2008
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: tools, revision, craft, OTMA, Add a tag
Darcy Pattison has this revision trick I've been meaning to try for some time now called The Shrunken Manuscript. When Laurie Anderson mentioned it at lunch this weekend, I finally added it to my official list of things to do. Because really, who doesn't want to be cool like Laurie? Plus, there's no one home to trip over the whole mess for two days.
In its most basic sense, the Shrunken Manuscript involves reducing an entire novel to a miniscule size and marking up important elements so you can see the Big Picture view of your story's structure at a glance. Like so:
Closer, less wiggly pictures of the exercise in progress:
Voice switches (which coincide with chapter breaks) marked by colored stripes.
Dramatic tension indicated with red cross hatching
Sparklies added, for purposes of morale
So what did I learn?
1. There's a whole lot more conflict in this story than I realized, and it's not all confined to the beginning and the end, thankyouJesus. The type of tension changes as the plot progresses, but I think that's ok.
2. The beginning six chapters are DENSE compared with the remaining 38. But they're also relatively short, so maybe I can get away with that.
3. The chapters I'm most irritated with tend to be shy on conflict.
4. The spaces between sparkly parts aren't horrifyingly large, even in the last half.
5. The parts I found sparkle-worthy tend to be good character moments.
6. The temptation to go wild with the color-coding is intense if you're as geeky as I am (I could have indicated internal vs. external conflict with different colors, for example) but there comes a point when too much fussing turns a helpful revision strategy into a mess of plaid.
7. Vaccuum first.
Be forewarned: this exercise requires lots of squinting and squatting and crawling around on the floor. You'll probably need snacks -- it took me about 4 hours to prepare, shrink, print, color-code, and sparkle up my manuscript (including nibbles and email breaks). Also, once you've devoted an afternoon to this endeavor, you're likely to want to gaze at the results for quite a while before tearing it apart, so aim for a low-traffic corner of the house.
Learn this trick and lots more in Darcy's revision workbook, Novel Metamorphosis.
18 Comments on The incredible shrinking manuscript, last added: 10/14/2008
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By: Sarah Miller,
on 9/20/2008
Blog: Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: OTMA, revision, WIP, Add a tag
So now that I've come out of the WIP closet, it's time to talk revision. I've got until November 1 to make OTMA presentable for Mr. Editor Man to have his way with. Risking humiliation with public accountability seemed to work while I was drafting, so how about we give that another go?
The catch is, revision is a slippery thing to measure. You add, you trim, you mash stuff up and move it around. Consequently the word count, that sacred progress meter, zigzags all over the place and becomes downright useless.
But darn it, I like to measure and monitor stuff like this. So here's my latest bright idea: the Revise-O-Meter. (I was going to call this the Unsuck-o-meter, but as I read through the manuscript I figured out that isn't quite fair. Lots of stuff that needs work isn't officially crappy -- it just needs bulking up , or untangling.)
According to this utterly unscientific system, each chapter gets an individual satisfaction rating, based on wildly subjective factors that all boil down to what sort of mood I'm in when I sit down to tackle a portion of this project. At the end of a day's work, I tally up the points and see how happy I am with the whole enchilada.
Mind you, a rating of 100 doesn't imply perfection. Perfection is different from satisfaction.
The goal: an 85% or better overall satisfaction rate by November 1.
Why not 100%? Because after seeing what a smart editor can do for a book, I know I can't do this alone, and I'm not about to drive myself crazy trying. A little room to breathe is good for all parties involved. Besides, the more I obsess over alleged perfection, the harder it is to adapt to an editor's (mostly brilliant) suggestions and solutions.
Revise-O-Meter opening standings:
Chapter 1: 100
Chapter 2: 100
Chapter 3: 100
Chapter 4: 100
Chapter 5: 100
Chapter 6: 100
Chapter 7: 100
Chapter 8: 75
Chapter 9: 80
Chapter 10: 70
Chapter 11: 90
Chapter 12: 70
Chapter 13: 95
Chapter 14: 100
Chapter 15: 100
Chapter 16: 100
Chapter 17: 100
Chapter 18: 85
Chapter 19: 95
Chapter 20: 90
Chapter 21: 85
Chapter 22: 40
Chapter 23: 60
Chapter 24: 85
Chapter 25: 80
Chapter 26: 50
Chapter 27: 70
Chapter 28: 80
Chapter 29: 80
Chapter 30: 65
Chapter 31: 65
Chapter 32: 45
Chapter 33: 70
Chapter 34: 50
Chapter 35: 55
Chapter 36: 50
Chapter 37: 55
Chapter 38: 65
Chapter 39: 50
Chapter 40: 60
Chapter 41: 60
Chapter 42: 75
Chapter 43: 35
Chapter 44: 80
For a grand total of 3295 out of 4400 possible points
74.88% overall satisfaction
And pardon me for saying so, but that's effing astonishing. I never would have guessed I was in the 70% range at all, which just goes to show how far out of whack my perception of a project as a whole can go when I focus on one stubborn fragment that's giving me trouble. (Chapter 22, for example. Horrors!) I mean, gosh, that's dangerously close to a C+. I don't think I've ever been this pleased by a potential C+ before.
ps: If anyone can show me how to put one of those nifty little progress meter images in my sidebar, that'd be awfully spiffy. I'm flummoxed.
4 Comments on The Revise-O-Meter, last added: 9/20/2008
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Congratulations to all the winners!
What a great contest!
All my compliments to those who won!!
I want to thank Stephania
for her help! Thanks girlfriend!
Congratulations to the winners. I spent hours researching the answers to quiz three and had to give up on the names of the plays.
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks for the opportunity! :)