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August 29, 2004
walt whitman
Four pages tonight, and Chapter 29 now clocks in as the longest chapter of the book with 4221 words. This is not necessarily good, but since there's much going on and I didn't want to break it apart, it'll likely stay that way. It ends how it's supposed to end.
I'm a bit sensitive about chapter lengths. My first book had incredibly long chapters, and I was cautioned to not do that by various editors. Of course, ten years later I re-read my first book and caution myself to not do a lot of things, so chapter length could have just been an arbitrary criticism. It was a pretty horrendous piece, and chapter length was only the tip of that sewer-scented iceberg.
So anyway, the answer to last night's question is: leave it to the reader's imagination. As much as I want to be sex ed for some poor teenager out there, I don't think this is the book to do it in. What I wrote was still fairly provocative, as far as I'm concerned. As provocative as I feel is within my capability as a writer at this time. If an editor says: "More throbbing!" I'll put in more throbbing, but for now I like what I've accomplished (note: there is currently no throbbing).
And now, Walt Whitman's biography (not really).
- In another place,
in another time
I'd be driving trucks my dear
deer
Posted by sdshaver at August 29, 2004 02:07 AM