The Nature of the Beast ~Content verses Quality~ Writin' Wombats CCCXII

Since I'm leaving in a few minutes, I'm cheating big time and commenting first. neener, neener.

Actually, I think if the story itself grabs you and doesn't let you go, it has that spark, if you will, I can put away the editing witch and just enjoy the story. I'm might cringe now and then, skip over paragraphs, but if it doesn't interfere w/the flow and pace of the story, I'll read it. I've enjoyed a few that my reactions were as stated above.

Now if the story is only so-so, I'm not as patient.

I'll try to check in later at the hotel. Hugs all!

First!

It is well known that the author cannot be first under Article 123a sub-paragraph ii, line 23 of the Wombat Wisdom TOS.

First male, in any case. :-)

I'll take anything I can get, Jamie. Thanks. :)

The problem with your complaint is Sia was first and Wendy is the author of the thread. See (*with a Brooklyn accent).

My bad.

*doing the first dance*

Wendy's article, and Sia's comment is first. Sorry, John, you're number 2. And a very nice number 2 as well. And that's a cute dance. Where'd you learn that wiggle?

I demand the Queen make a ruling. I thought we covered this one or two threads ago.

Er, what? I'm confused...

John, sweetheart, contrary to popular belief, saying it three times doesn't make it so.

Yeah to Jill for her sane co-worker!

Except for a few books -- Ken's, a few from Second Wind, one from a blog friend -- reading most books seem to be like reading cereal boxes. I don't know why those few books resonated. Perhaps because I knew the authors? Because they were good, well-written stories without any hype to turn me off? Whatever, until these books showed up in my life, I'd read (because that's what I do) but without any real enjoyment. I can turn off the editing witch -- it seldom interferes the reading experience -- so that's not the problem. Maybe I'm just jaded. Does this answer the question? I don't know, but it's the only answer I have.

I tried to share a comment on one of my posts on facebook, but it's an all or nothing thing -- you have to give them permission to use your information, your friends' information, your unborn children and grandchildren's information -- and then they post all your gather remarks. Ugh.

ALL of them? Yikes! I wouldn't want that.

Oh yeah, if anyone thought I was crazy that would secure the knowledge.

Well, let's see. It's a little of both, I'd say. If the execution is HORRENDOUS, it doesn't matter how good the story-line is. Into the toilet it goes.

Example: (The opening paragraph-ish of a book I can NOT get into even though the premise sounds right up my ally.)
Given a Ph.D. in molecular biology from MIT that had been earned in close cooperation with Massachusetts General Hospital, Kevin Marshall found his squemishness regarding medical procedures a distinct embarassment. Although he'd never admitted it to anyone, just having a blood test or a vaccination was an ordeal for him. Needles were his specific bete noir. The sight of them caused his legs to go rubbery and a cold sweat to break out on his broad forehead. Once he'd even fainted in college after getting a measles shot.
At age thirty-four, after many years of postgraduate biomedical research, some of it involving animals, he'd expected to outgrow his phobia, but it hadn't happened. And for that reason he was not in operating room 1A or 1B at the moment.

From Chromosome 6, Robin Cook

Grammatically correct? Yeah, I guess. Execution? You be the judge.

Clunky!

I've had a problem reading Robin Cook since the first one I tried. I couldn't tell you the name but I couldn't read it. It was written poorly, boring, and sounded adolescent in tone.

Distinct embarassments are obviously the worst kind, especially when they show up in hackneyed prose. Now, indistinct embarassments -- much less common and perhaps preferable.

Wow. "Hello, my name is Kevin, here's my CV, and I'll be your Main Charactar tonight." This one almost looks like an entry for an"edit this opening" contest.

Wendy, I forgive Nora Roberts for her head hopping. It's voice that has made her a success. I have difficulty defining voice, but know it when I read it.

Picking up from the last thread. Pat, we (the field) input everything we do into Citrix, but the employee database in Texas is in Oracle. It's my understanding the two programs don't communicate, so basically everything we do on our end, we have to send them a PTF (payroll transaction form) so they can then duplicate the info into Oracle. Now, I admit, I don't know much about programming, but is that the stupidest thing you've ever heard, or what? And, God forbid, they should give us access to the database in Oracle so we can just skip the middleman. So stoopid.

John, I think we can call you a close second on this one.

Wendy, the story is important, but I've been expecting writers to both entertain and be competent for a while now. Hence it's annoying when the writer indulges in massive saidisms or other offences are generally not acceptable.

Nonetheless, I do view some of today's "must have" as stylistic issues which very well may change over time. It does seem like the patience of readers is on the decline, so the leisurely, well executed literary romp of yesteryear will not do well in a period when ADD rules. But will adverbs always be considered passe? We the readers and writers will find out.

Ouch, my icon turned into a big X for a moment, but the guitar playing guy returned after I hit the refresh.

Character vs. Personality --No Whine, Just Champagne Discussion #82

Please stop by if you get a chance.

I'm the kind of reader who finishes any and every book I start. No better sense I guess. But until the last couple of years I didn't read with the EW in residence. Now, oh she's there all right.

I also got spoiled while reading the Science Fiction greats, some talented western writers and some great literary works. Now, if they can't give me good writing the least they can do is give me a good story. I'll forgive a lot for a good story.

Thanks for the chocolate over on the other thread. I gobbled it right up.

That's the opening for Robin Cook? Straight telling right off the bat. Let's play with his openings...

After years of postgraduate biomedical research, after countless hours locked in labs with both human and animal subjects, and after being on both ends of ill-advised experiments of all stripes, Kevin Marshall had expected to outgrow his phobia regarding simple medical procedures.

But neither age—he was thirty-four—nor education—a doctorate from MIT—had cured him of his squeamishness at the sight of needles.

Thus he was not present in operating room 1A when it imploded on Monday afternoon, vaporizing two surgeons, three nurses, two techs, and the heir to the Bloomfield drug cartel.

I think I worded something wrong here. So no cracks about his openings.

I'd prefer it if Kevin had been vaporized too. I wish he didn't have that damned phobia.

See? I said upthread this should be an "edit this opening" contest! Much better.

Wanda, I loved Heinlein when I was a teenager -- he told a great story -- but later on his stylistic tics started to become a real turnoff. Unfortunately, his storytelling got much more erratic in his later books as well, but by then, the publishers would print whatever he wrote, even if it really needed trimming. Still, at his best, he wrote fine stories, which is what he'll be remembered for.

Oh I truly agree. In fact it's been so long since I read anything of his that I'm sure I'd cringe at his style now. But the essence of his story, his stories really touched me at a crucial point in my life. He opened my mind up to the possibilites of life, gave me new ways to look at everyday things, I'll always be grateful for that.

I remember throwing "I Will Fear No Evil" across the room. Sexist. Oh so sexist. And that was before I really thought of things as being "sexist." Ugh. what a dog.

Lisa, yes, for me, the trip downward began with "I Will Fear No Evil." It had moments of promise, but his handling of the female characters really showed he was out of touch.

Beth, huge improvement in the readability of the edited section. Cook's version just limped along.

Storytelling is way more important than writing. My eyes will skip over a lot if the reading is good. The one hitch, if the author is using words randomly, strangely, or just plain incorrectly. Describing something that makes no sense like when the adjective chosen is odd or illogical. Plain clean prose is preferable to convoluted, eight dependent clauses deep writing.

This has been a crazed day. My life is at a point where all the cards are flipping at once. A lot of change, not all bad or good, but chaotic. I need to embrace some acceptance to weather it. So far, okay. Decompression is called for, so cue Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly, take 12. Only two in the past two days. I don't think my brain wants to manage much more than that presently.

Happy Anniversary James. Sorry I'm late. Enjoy.

Hope Sia is having fun.

And COUNTDOWN commences for Jill. Woohoo!

Here's a update from the tempest in our little teapot...you'll have to pardon me for finding all this very interesting.

Hate Not Welcome

Thanks, James. Of course I have no idea what really happened in the operating room. But I'm guessing that was the most important part of the opening and Cook was trying to get to it while also revealing character.

I don't read Grisham, Jamie, for this same reason. The stories should be good--the idea's good--but the execution has problems.

Having a good idea is not sufficient to make one a good writer. Maybe it makes a profitable one. But...

So I don't read Grisham because I can't stand the weak writing. However, I've found a romance writer I love for her stories and for her, I overlook the writing. Well, not so much the writing as the poor editing. She repeats herself and repeats herself and repeats. And yes, it does pull me out of the story when I get hit with word, phrase, and thought repetition.

So one author I'll read and one I won't. Perhaps it has to do with the types of errors in their books.

If I'd written that opening, I wouldn't have used a word of telling. He would have puked in the OR. The surgeon would ribbed him about his queasiness. He'd blame it on something he ate in his lunch (which could be used to indicate that the setting is Africa - instead of requiring 3 maps of Africa on the proceeding pages), then he'd have stumbled out of the OR and had an internal thought about his stupid phobia, comparing it to his adventure with a measle shot.
More impact when you show and thread details naturally. We don't need his credentials on the first page. The whole thing makes me cringe. Ick. And it doesn't get any better from there. At least the fifteen pages I forced myself to read.

Vivian, sounds like tough going. Hope you can find a pillar or two to hang onto as the changes play out.

Pride and Prejudice is a good choice Viv. {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}} Acceptance may be key, but it's as jagged as one to swallow sometimes.

It's easy to pick on the really bad stuff... but what bad stuff do you love? And why?

I adored the Harry Potter series, even though they are a tad beneath my reading level and I had to keep that in mind when things were too easy to figure out. Duh, it was written for a nine year old. smile All was forgiven because I really fell in love with the characters and their journey.

Over explaining can be scanned if I'm really, really into a story. Some authors look as if they can be scanned and then I get sacked. "What? I missed something. Drat!" Back I go to find the missing piece.

I can also respect an author and their body of work.. without liking to read them. I much rather watch Shakespeare than to read it. So kill me, I don't like getting tied into literary knots.

Is that a question or a statement, I'd bargain it's a little of both, Wendy?

H.P. Love Craft comes to mind, he lures me in and by the time the story ends, I am sucker punched, and scratching my head, intuitively, on to the next chapter.

Vivian, on No Whine tonight, we were talking about changes in life and how that plays out for a writer within their characters. I notice parallels with the comments you made earlier about "all the cards flipping at once." There will come a time when those changes will quiet down and you can reflect on it and perhaps write about it in some fashion.

Time for bedtime reading and one more day at work. Good evening, wombats.

Just realized: one doesn't demand the Queen do anything. Let me bow and change that to "I humbly request a ruling from the Queen."

Just let me know what it is I'm supposed to be ruling on. I'll get back to you!

This discussion about who was first on this thread — in the first few comments above.

Never mind. (See Jamie's remark near the beginning of the comment thread.)

I apologize for disturbing the meditation of your highness.

Time to power down the old internet and seek some quiet time.

My highpoints so far this week, I added 400 words to Elysia's story and lost another 2 pounds. Not much but then any loss is a good loss I always say. And I am glad to be writing anything so the word count is terrific. Now if I can quit trying to edit the words as I write them. Darn EW.....

Night all, sleep well and be refreshed come the morrow.

Hmm, for me, story can transcend a lot of clunky writing, but I still very much tend to notice and get distracted by poorly crafted prose...

So, none of the above?

Much to do this morning (Sia's already on the plane and the kitchen is still a wreck! I KNEW I shouldn't have taken on deep frying saurkraut balls at 9:00 last night--I'd forgotten that when I'm stressed, I cook).

Jill, yes, those systems sound 100% stupid. And dangerously inefficient in these economic times.

And sorry, I know I'll go to romance hell for this, but for me, Nora Roberts is not all that and a bag of chips. And I used to love Mary Higgins Clark, but now that I know better, I can't make it past her first pages, and recognize that she tells the same story over and over.

Obviously, I'm a story-over-style person, but if the style is seriously bad, I just can't get past it. And it doesn't have to be actually clunky or anything, just not my style. Hence my current struggle to get thru Carol Goodman's The Sonnet Lover. Even though it's a great story, the first person POV present tense is driving me nuts. I don't mind first person POV, it's the present tense part that I loathe.

Apparently I'm not alone in this. In the Emily contest this year, they are making a real effort to target entries to judges. To do this, they ask a couple of questions on things that might "throw" a judge, so a judge won't get something they totally hate. Among these "modifiers" are language, violence/gore, graphic sex, 1st person POV, and present tense. I find it interesting that they recognize that those last two can be as much as a turn off as violence to a reader. I don't mind violence or graphic sex, but present tense sends the book straight into the recycle box.

Oops, you're not gonna like my book very much!

Ugh, I feel icky again this morning. But it's Friday, so I'll hang in there.

Congrats on the two pounds lost, Wanda. That's how much I lost this week, too. I wanted to lose more, so I'll blame stooopid germs which interfered with my excercise schedule. They also made me eat two chocolate chip cookies. :-P

And there's a Wombatogether scheduled for today. How fun and exciting!

Wendy, I left a present in your off-gather inbox, and I'm already thinking of ways to improve it. There's a sentence of telling in there and it needs to be reworked. Heh.

Have a great Friday everyone.

I've already got my writing goals for this weekend.
Sed's Pariah: add 4,100 new words
Brian's Muse: Rework 25,000 words.... minimum.

I'm not exactly sure I understand all the implications, but on my way to work this morning, I had a black Jaguar XJ6 in front of me with FREEMASONS and their Square and Compass symbol on the license plate. To be clear, I don't mean a bumpersticker, a license plate frame, or FRMASN spelling, I'm talking about a license plate issued by the State of Washington with FREEMASON on it. This, obviously, means there is a conspiracy at the highest levels of state government and Freemasonry. I should write a book...I'll call it The Black Jaguar.

guaranteed best seller

I'd buy it for the title alone.

Congrats on the weight loss ladies!

I've read nearly all of Elizabeth Lowell's back list and sadly I discovered what you did with Clark, Pat, the new ones started to become the same story with different dressings. Sobbing!

Well written or not, formula stories drives me nutz, any genre.

I'm surprised you haven't spotted that plate before Ken. Our Masonic temple looks like something plucked out of Athens. Hot spot for rites of passage. Proms, Weddings and heaven only knows what. grin

Got my present Jamie and will be savoring it very soon.

Pat, don't wear yourself out before Sia gets there. And have fun!

Be gentle. According to my horoscope someone is going to destroy my self-esteem about my work. I doubt that will be you, but well, I guess that's better than the alternative of a big rejection from a publisher.

*hyperventilates

Pat & Sia, have a great visit! Are either of you pitching at the conference? You'll have to tell us all about your adventures.

since I've commented on everyone elses comment, I felt i should also comment on yours. haven't seen enough of my icon today, it seems.

And feel free to pitch for me, ladies. :-)

SIA'S HERE!! And we're having lunch! More later.

Yay!

I just know you're going to have the bestest time ever.

Is having to gastronomically slum it today with parmesan crusted chicken covered in sage butter sauce with rosemary garlic roasted potatoes. This just sucks.

sounds slighly better than my bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats, for which I did not have enough milk to even wet them properly, but just slightly better

I don't know. Honey Bunches of Oats. That's the prime rib of cereals.

I suppose I should go get ready for lab. SIGH..... Sigh.... sigh....

I just sat down, dang it!

I like a rip-roaring good story with invisible prose... not so bad it jolts me out of the story, and not so flowery it demands attention for its own beautiful self. The story should seem to tell itself. This is much harder than it sounds.

It's harder to read for pure pleasure once one has become a writer, I think.

There should be a warning from the Surgeon General.

Warning! Being an author often destroys your ability to relax and enjoy recreational reading.

Pat, Sia, have a great day!

And yeah, pretty much what Elizabeth said.

I've worn Sia out already! She's off to take a nap (in fairness, she was up at 4 AM to catch her 6 AM flight). I'm just toddling off to pack an overnight bag for the conference. Hope everyone is having a great day!

I hope one of you is camera ready!

For those of you who missed yesterday's link. Taking crazy on a field trip.

Here's the latest, and many local schools are on lockdown today. Geez

I read the new beginning Jamie, and now I want to reread the rest. Cocks brow. Do you have any idea how rare it is that I want to read something twice? I can think of like, one, yes, one other novel.
Off with me

Thanks for the feedback, Wendy!

The guy went and applied for a job. Sounds like his medication was already wearing off.

All the police have to do is stake out other places around town:

Banks (applying for a loan)

Apartments (applying for a place to live)

Library (applying for a library card)

Gun shops (applying for a gun)

Greeting card shops (buying a greeting card to send to the prison and writing "Neener-neener" on it)

Post Office (filing a change of address)

The Fair itself (entering 10 years of doilies in the county embroidery contest)

snork, Rand!

Spew Alert! Spew Alert! OMG! Rand!

Friggin' hysterical Rand.

Great ideas Rand and funny too!

Fridays just absolutely WEAR. ME. OUT. I don't know how I used to teach highschool all day with no breaks and not pass out from exhaustion. My Fridays are very similar to the rigor of my high school teaching EVERY day. And I don't have the discipline issues to deal with in teaching college. No wonder I hated teaching high school. I mean the kids were fun, but it sucked the life right out of me.

And because I am worn out, I'm not wanting to get off this couch and go for my walk. I'd much rather take a nap. Like Sia. Yeah, I think she has the right idea.

Okay, I'm going. Or I'll hate myself in the morning.

We have two DB contest entries now...

Escape


Harry Potter and the Lost Wizard of Oz

The latest Charlie Huston post where he talks about getting stuck on dialog and action tags is interesting...

Charlie Huston's Pulpnoir

Never heard of this guy but I can relate. I tend to get bogged down in those stupid details. I get so frustrated I write in 'car' with no make, model or color. 'shirt' with no type., etc

Vivian, how was today for you? Hoping that it's getting better.

I ate too much for dinner. Healthy, but still too much. Of course, after yesterday, I had to eat something decent today. I was a junk-food maniac yesterday.

Beth, things are fine just busy. Non stop, everything is in a state of change, not necessarily bad - just chaos. At least it feels like that to me. I don't think of myself as a superstitious person, but a great deal of things have happened and been happening for the past two weeks. Let's just say at this point, I feel like a cat in a room full or rocking chairs.

Karma is balanced though, for every negative there has been a positive.

long or short tailed cat? :-)

Definitely long.

Change is so crazy making, even if they are good changes. Sometimes we just have to hang on and go for the ride. Hope it settles down soon!

I came to visit, but all of a sudden we got a thunderstorm. Better go before it eats my computer.

Back from Borders. 5000+ written, a whole bunch more semi-plotted and snippets from next scenes written.

Don't know if I'll get caught up; I've got a blog to write. Pat and Sia must be having a blast right now, huh?

Awesome wordcount, Judi! I wrote. Wait for it. 0.

I'm going to bed early. I think my cold is relapsing. I've felt crappy all day. No work tomorrow so time for lots of sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. shhhhhh......

Hope you feel better. Dare I say, "Take it easy"?

yeah, feel better, Jamie!!! Take it easy this weekend so you can rebound. (No, this is not a reference to Rebound Girl - which, btw, I wouldn't mind reading when you finish it. I need something new to bleed over! )

Take it easy sounds like good advice to me, what Viv said. Jamie, take it easy so you don't totally relapse! Be good to yourself, you're the only you we have, ya know.

Off to be with me. Not feeling so terrific myself, allergies or a headcold, not sure, just feeling a bit puny.

Viv, I hope all settles soon. Things have a way of whirlwinding once in a while.

Peace to all those seeking such.

Sending calming thoughts Vivian's way. Healing to Jamie and Wanda.

Goodnight Neverland

Tomorrow's post on www.CasablancaAuthors.blogspot.com about the end of a series.

You do know LOST will end in May, yes? Guiding Light ended today after 72 years. Thoughts? I'd love not to need gloves and scarves. It'll post at 12:01 pacific time Sat am.

Guiding Light was the first soap opera I ever watched. My childhood is officially dead, okay tweenhood.

New post all by itself (in case I ever decide to delete it so I don't have to admit to it). I bought DB's latest. Between Pat's recommendation and my buddy at Borders'... well, I had to. Ken, this doesn't make you think less of me, does it? Viv?

Judi I have never read DB. My gripe with him was the litigation suit regarding Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Yes he did extensive add ons so I understand the ruling, but I adored Holy Blood, Holy Grail. For that reason, my loyalties caused me to align against DB. My only comment is that he seems a tad melodramatic.

I have yet to rad HBHG. I want to. The reason DB was a hit with me was b/c I was raised Catholic and never - NEVER - heard even an inkling of the Mary Magdelene thing. Funny how the Catholic church portrayed her--and I don't mean the "ha ha" kind of funny. It struck a note - and the writing could be damned as far as I was concerned. He had me with the story.

I enjoy a Big Mac every now and then. As long as I don't try to pass it off as Beef Wellington, I expect you guys to bear with me. Same with DB. Consume it. Enjoy it. Just don't describe it as a pinnacle of human creativity and intellectual achievement--and we shall have peace in the land.

I just can't wait to hear what you think of it. DaVinci was far more convoluted, and this one won't beat it, but it's entertaining.

Take care this weekend, Jamie. Hope you feel better.

Off to Stinson Beach for the next 5+ days. Don't know yet if there's an Internet connection.

Perfect timing:
Forecast weather is a 90+ heat wave and Stinson will be 15 degrees cooler.
DB new novel arrived in the mail today.
Good chance to get off the Net and work on some of my fiction.

I'd wish Pat and Sia a great time, but that seems unnecessary.
Would wish Judi good luck getting words on paper this weekend, but that seems unnecessary.
And anything I'd wish Ken always seems unnecessary.

'Nite bats — see you on the other side.

Where's Stinson Beach? I think I feel a pang of jealousy and I'm not sure why. Oh. Beach. Yeah, jealous. Wouldn't you rather visit a corn field?

I wrote 1200 words for my "Breakout Novel" class homework. That has to count for something. I prolly won't write much else this weekend, though. That has to count for something too. Somewhere. For something. I honestly don't know what we have planned for this weekend that will fill my "otherwise I'm writing" time.

I know I will have things thrown at me for saying this, but it's nice after 34 years of mowing my (sometimes small, sometimes very large) lawns to have someone else take care of it. One of the joys of living in a condo.

So my list for today is:

Number of strangers who mowed my lawn: 1

Number of strangers who blew the cut grass off my porch, patio, and sidewalk: 1

Number of times I had to fill the mower gas tank and yank on the cord: 0

Number of books I read in the time it would have taken me to mow the yard and blow the cut grass off my porch, patio, and sidewalk: 1/3

I'm so jealous the color of my vision matches those grass cuttings someone else made for you.

My parents live in a 55+ community and they don't have to cut their lawn, mulch, weed, shovel snow... AND they have a pool, a clubhouse with a gym and pool table and fireplace and big screen tv and kitchen with a fridge where they can have parties... I wanna move there.

Well, that's the best endorsement I've heard for growing older. I'll get this mile-stone birthday over with, and in a few years, I'll be eligible for all kinds of perks. Plus, closer to retirement! :-)

Jill, remember: every candle on your cake signifies another year you're with us. Personally, I'm glad there are more candles on your cake. :) (and it's 21, right?)

I think it's highly likely my next move will be into condo-land. I'm determined to do no more home-improvement projects. I installed a nice curved shower rod and pressure washed the deck. Otherwise, forget it. I have other things to apply my life's energy to.

The Wombat retirement community. I don't know if I should be endeared or horrified by that thought. I think I'm going with horrified. I just know you all will make me mow the yard. :-P

Condo land sounds pretty terrific in some ways and others, not so much. I like that Bill mows the lawn, bags the clippings, blows the walkways clear, etc. But I'd miss it if I didn't have a bit of yard to putter around in. Maybe I could work part time for the maintenence crew? Being surrounded by Writin' Wombats sounds all right to me. And no forcing Jamie to mow!

Ken, we just put in our curved shower curtain rod and I love it! It's so roomy in the bath now. I bet Judi loves it too.

the temptation is there to pick up DB's book,. but I'd like to do 5000 + tomorrow, so best if I hit the hay.

Night 'bats!

and Pat and Sia, wherever you are (and wherever you are, I'm sure you're still awake!)

Does anyone have experience with FrameMaker? I'm very frustrated with Word. Word is almost-adequate for novels, but when you have a table of contents, an index, complex numbering of sections and want to slip in intentionally blank pages (with no header or footer) it is maddening and weak. You can do these things, but the project is fragile like a house of cards...with a curious cat roaming around. Microsoft should be deeply ashamed of themselves.

And Word 2009 is even WORSE for novelists than earlier versions. I've no experience with other programs, but there's got to be something out there better than it.

FrameMaker and it's successor InDesign most likely would add to your frustration unless you've worked with them before. Both have very steep learning curves. Also expensive if you don't already own one of them. If not, Scribus is an excellent open source alternative. I know some publishing houses have switched to it.

I've been watching for a deal on eBay and I don't think I need the latest version, so the cost gets more reasonable. I know the best approach with Framemaker is to read the whole manual before running it. RTFM. Like I have the time and interest in doing that! Ha!
It might be time for me to work on the creative writing and leave the formatting and print-prep to trained professionals. I'll take a look at Scribus, thanks for the tip, Mike.
It doesn't seem like it should be that hard...the stuff I want to do is uncomplicated. I want a blank page here so the new chapter starts on an odd page there. What, that's rocket science?

Mike, is there anything you DON'T know? *grins in awe

What you think should be an easy exercise doesn't necessarily mean Adobe sees it that way...lol.

Brenda, I can't crochet. Though I can sew and do a mean latch hook rug..lol. There are plenty of things I don't know. But, I'm thinking of going back to school again so who knows. Except I'm looking at adding more hours in ag instead of something new. Everyone needs to have a few hundred hours of college credits right?...lol

InDesign is awesome! Once you set up the templates, and you can do anything, you can fly through. Future adjustments automatically are applied across the board.

I didn't think the learning curve on it was too complicated especially since you have a technical background, it should be a breeze Ken.

We have a new entry...

The Lost Secret

Woke up feeling like CRAP (and I have a tissue stuffed up my nostril), but my novel edits/rewrites all came into sharp focus somewhere in the wee hours