the official blog of Raquel Somatra

Monday, January 21, 2013

My bookshelf (and editing)


This is my bookshelf. Its organization is inspired by "The Last Bookstore" in Los Angeles, which is possibly my favorite bookstore of all time.

I love books.

In related news, the (original) book I have written is being edited for the last time. I think I'm close to its completion. As I should be, I hope, since this is about the fourth time I'm going over it. Which is frightening and exciting. But mostly frightening at this point. 

This is one of my favorite quotations on editing a manuscript:

Q: How do you know when a novel is finished?

"I know a story is finished when I have revised it so thoroughly that a single sentence cannot be removed without disrupting the music and meaning of the sentences before and after it. In other words, when everything in the story is so complete, consistent, and coherent that every dimension of the story feels organic and interconnected, like parts of a living body from which nothing can be torn without disturbing the whole."
-- Charles Johnson

That's what I'm going for. 

-Blessings-

2 comments:

  1. I love the way you organized your bookshelves by color and design!

    If I kept editing until I reached Charles Johnson's ideal, I would never finish. I'm not happy even after it's edited professionally and the editor says its beautiful. When I reread passages I cringe and think I could have done better.

    Takeaway? Maybe don't edit like I do :)

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    1. You're a perfectionist! Nothing wrong with that, it just sounds like you're too hard on yourself! Thank you for the compliment. :)

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