The daily metrics

[la_marquise]

Words written today: 762 -- still gearing back up to that 1000 minimum.
First line of the day: 'She wagged her tail at him anyway, bouncing around his feet in anticipation of whatever treat his presence promised.'

Owain is asking questions, the bond-villagers are being sullen and Gif is looking for a new playmate.
I now have a post-it over my desk reading 'Don't forget the body.' Because, you know, it mustn't get forgotten. It's not going to bury itself and Hyfaidd (the king) is looking forward to yelling at some-one about it.

Good things about this book: comedy dog; Owain; vikings to come; lots of fights.
Bad things: I am convinced that all the characters are cold and damp all the time. Early mediaeval Wales wasn't comfortable. Also, it had no plumbing. I have to keep reminding myself that the characters will be used to these things and won't worry about them. Indeed, they are probably quite comfortable at least some of the time and feel perfectly clean enough ditto. (though Owain isn't keen on pig-manure covered dog, for which I do not blame him.

Stray mediaeval thing: spell-checkers will tell you 'viking' needs to be capitalised. Many people do capitalise it -- it's almost standard practice. However, technically, it's not a proper noun -- it's a descriptive one, like plumber or carpenter. So it doesn't really need that capital. Of course, this may also be a reflection on my academic training and in particular on the nature of my PhD supervisor (chilperic can doubtless imagine why). If I sell The Drowning Kings, I expect to have a minor battle with the copy-editor which I will loose.

Stray question: why do I have such trouble with lose/loose and chose/choose?

Skirt of the day: black flouncey.

And now I get to go and clean the bathroom. I like cleaning bathrooms, so it's almost my treat for getting on with the Bl**dy Celtic Book.

Comments

[andrewducker]

Oddly, loose/lose is one of the few miswritings that gets to me. I think I encountered it one too many times on usenet.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I'm really looking forward to reading this book. And I thought Wales was always dark and cold and wet.

I find cleaning the bathroom to be very satisfying, though it's not something I look forward to.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

It sounds delightful. Isn't viking also a verb?

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

You are more than welcome to come a-viking and clean my bathrooms.

Oddly, I have memories of sun from my time in Wales. Rain, too, naturally.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Ha! I thought. Comedy dog!

And lo, you went and admitted it. Which takes all the fun out of pointing the finger...

Fie on all spellcheckers. Viking is a verb (tho' it strikes me suddenly, I have never seen "to vike"...).

And I have never understood why anyone confuses lose with loose (they're pronounced differently, for a start; doesn't that help?). People do it all the time on the internets, and I growl at them. *growls*

[saare-snowqueen.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a Viking myself - or at least a descendant of them, I think we should all get out our horned helmets and go a-viking. No cap's.

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

Well, double O is usually pronounced /oo/, so it looks like lose should be loose, but it's not. Now, if we were sensible, we'd write it lws and there would be no problem.

I too have been in Wales when it was sunny and warm. Also when it was very wet and bl**dy cold. The husband will never forgive me for dragging him up to the ruins of Aberystwyth Castle on a day when the wind was howling in off the North Sea. (I had to sing the O'Carolan melody there, of course.)

[maryosmanski.livejournal.com]

So should folks who go a-viking actually be called vikers?

[anef.livejournal.com]

You'll have to explain to me what makes cleaning the bathroom fun. So far I have not found it so.

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

I taught an Effective Writing workshop in-house once, and wrote a sample sentence/mnemonic for my hapless victims:


I noticed that the collars on the man-eating plants were loose. The Botanic Garden should take care or it will lose them.

[footlingagain.livejournal.com]

Everthing is better with a dog. Almost all are comedy dogs, whether they mean to be or not.