i’m scanning in chapter illustrations
right now. just for personal reference.
i’d still like to do one more illustration
before sending the batch to virginia.
what do you think of the above one?
it ties in directly to a key scene in the novel.
haha!
actually, that is a birthday
drawing that sweet pea did for me.
isn’t it awesome? that’s a self-portrait
of sweet pea holding a halloween
pumpkin (which really impressed me,
from the color to the face!)
there are butterflies
and a balloon and sun, hearts and
clouds. she also said, i’m drawing you
hugs and a kiss, and put circles and
an X on the page. isn’t that cute??
not sure where she learned the
xo thing from, school or the love?
i don’t remember mentioning it!
i’ve taped the drawing by my bedside–
which made sweet pea very happy!
i had taken the bubs with me to pick
up my bamboo painting from the fair–
along with my giant blue ribbon,
and she admired it a lot.
i love your ribbon, mommy!
how many of them did they give?
not many, i replied.
one day, i want a ribbon, too!
and i told her she’s a much better
artist than i ever was at her age. 8)
i admit, i still have a difficult time
thinking of myself as an artist. maybe
when the picture book comes out?
i sent virginia my first revised
draft last night. it’s officially 14k less
in words and reads so much cleaner.
wow!
there was deletion of a lot of
my transitioning paragraphs–usually
at the end of a chapter leading into
another. deletion of intrusive
description, esp during scenes where
the tension and action needed to
stay ramped. also hacking back
of show not tell. and then there were
the random words i’d put in. =X
you’d think i was being paid by
word count. haha!
but i’m very pleased with how the
novel reads now. i hope i’ve managed
to address most of the plot issues.
wish me luck!
i’m drinking an avocado shake with
boba right now. you know you want
one. yes, it sounds strange–but it
is all creamy smooth delightfulness.
oh, my bday isn’t until next week–
but i have a tendency to talk about
it for the entire month of august. =D
19 Comments
Yay for finishing edits! Yay for birthday months!
And yay for sweet pea’s awesome artwork!!!!!!!!!
psst–you signed some email with xo…do you sign notes at home like that too? kids are reallllly observant. :)
prcie, thanks! and she may have seen it before–but i can’t remember telling her the O were hugs and the X were kisses? but maybe i had?? my recall ain’t so good these days, haha!
Congratulations on finishing!
The butterflies are my favorite part.
Congrats on completing round 1 edits. Wow – 14k excised? Amazing. What’s your word count now?
I’m revising and my word count is actually creeping upward, but I was told to overwrite. But I cringe watching that word-o-meter…
Love Sweet pea’s color combos – nice choices, stark and dramatic. Peace, Linda
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (I’m going to say that in every post left this month, just so you know.) ;-)
That is amazing about your first round of edits!! How exciting. And yes, the illustrations are so avant-gard. :-)
Avocado smoothie? Hmmm…I’d give it a shot, definitely. And happy early birthday!
I <3 AVOCADO SMOOTHIEEEEE
sorry.
congratulations!! on all the many counts!
zhu ni sheng ri kuai le! does that make you a leo, like me?
when you come to NY, the monkey and i will take you to our personal favorite avocado milkshake, in jackson heights at a filipino place. yumm.
Oh, I want an avocado milkshake. I just got a juicer this weekend in order to process the 15,000,000,000 apples the girls picked. I’ll throw an avocado in next time!
Congratulations on the edits. It seems like you did them overnight!
Sweat pea is clearly an artistic genius.
jacqui, thanks! it is a flock of butterflies? a fleet? i’m never good with these things.
linda, my rough draft went from
73k to 98k with revisions. then i cut some of the beginning before subbing to editors and it “dropped” to 96k. now it’s at
82k. =)
amber, thank you! and i’m all for lots of happy bdays to me. yay!
angie, you should try the avocado shake. it’s the condensed milk that makes it so yummy!
xie xie yue shu! you’re on, hon! you and the hou zi!
elise, i got them in batches, which worked out perfectly! i did 200 pages before the conference and then hit the last 150 these past two weeks. yay!! and try the avocado shake–put in a bit of condensed milk. mmmm!
i wish i had an apple tree! we do have a navel orange one. that’s the extent of our farminess.
time to paint!! work day starts at 8pm after the kids are in bed.
I administer creativity tests with kids and your daughter’s piece would rate very high because of the details. Lots of natural talent in your Sweet Pea! :0)
avocado shakes are such a common se asian phenom, but i still haven’t tried it. i like my avocado tho, so i suppose i should.
btw, that drawing is ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it’s awesome!
Congrats Cindy. What a great accomplishment!
Nothing better than a kid’s artwork – I love it! I still have my kids’ artwork saved – more than I have room for. It’s stacked in folders under the beds, the attic, the basement. I can’t throw it out – even though they are all officially adults :(
Congrats too on finishing edits – YIPEE 4 U!!!
Can’t wait to see your name on the bookshelves :)
way to go, cindy…
and sweet pea, you rock, hon! :x
early b’day grats, just in case i forget next week ;) lol
faithful reader, wow, what a fun job! and thank you for the compliment! of course, i think she’s super talented! =D
angelle, the drawing’s fun, haha! and def try the avocado shake. yum!
jill, thank you! i’m looking foward to round two! =)
kim, i can’t keep everything. there’s no room! but i do keep a select few for certain.
LW, thank you! i’ll remind you to wish me happy bday again next week. haha!
Round Two?!? You never know, maybe you are done. One can dream, right:)
CINDY!!!
YAY !!! For you!!!
And…
YAY !!! For me!!!
Your booty shakes are magic!!!!
good, i need all the help i can in the memory department! ;) lol
such an awesome picture! What a sweetie!
And how awesome to be all done! You rock!
Happy early birthday!!!