Still in vacation land even though last week didn’t feel like vacation at all. I attended the end-of-term presentations—term projects, level design, and music/sound/video—which were great, and had a number of appointments like going to the dentist or getting a haircut, which were necessary. The strongest counter-vacation vibes came from the weather though, which was mostly shitty.
Now, style editing. I talked about developmental editing, which is mostly about dramatic structure and themes & motifs, then about line editing, which is all about polishing chunks of description, action, and dialogue. So what’s style editing? Usually, it’s part of line editing, but I keep it separate as it needs a more technical mind set and focus. It’s about word forms: verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and others. For example, progressive case overuse, dangling participles, linking verbs (appeared, seemed, looked, etc.); intensifiers, restricting adverbs, adverbs that prop up weak verbs; descriptive adjectives that don’t actually describe anything (pretty, fast, keen, etc.). There’s more, of course. I started with line editing, then switched to style editing and finished that first, then went back to line editing. Still at it.
Then, I didn’t upload anything new to my ocular drafts account on Flickr because, hey, vacation! But here’s something new. Remember Instagram before Facebook bought it, buried it in shit, poured gasoline over it, and set it on fire? I loved Instagram with a passion, and I hate Facebook for that one thing alone. Now, besides Flickr, I’m also freshly on Glass (J. Martin | @gyokusai). It’s a brand-new subscription-based social photo app for iOS, $29.99/first year, for the time being via invites or waiting list only. No ”likes,” no dark patterns, no fucking algorithms, all focused on photos and comments. Still pretty basic, but I enjoy it so far. (If you’re interested, I have some invites.)
Finally, as a game recommendation, Walden, a Game. It’s $9.99, but if you donated for itch.io’s Black Lives Matter bundle (“Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality”), you already own it. You play Henry Thoreau, living at Walden Pond through his first full year. Along an exploratory narrative, you learn a lot about the seasons in Massachusetts and its flora and fauna, about American Transcendentalism, the Abolitionism movement Thoreau was part of, and how to live in a cabin in the woods. You collect food, mend your clothes, chop firewood, read books at your favorite reading place at the lake, repair your cabin, raise beans…and explore.
The weather’s cleared up. Off to the balcony with a good read & a cold brew.
J.
Now, style editing. I talked about developmental editing, which is mostly about dramatic structure and themes & motifs, then about line editing, which is all about polishing chunks of description, action, and dialogue. So what’s style editing? Usually, it’s part of line editing, but I keep it separate as it needs a more technical mind set and focus. It’s about word forms: verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and others. For example, progressive case overuse, dangling participles, linking verbs (appeared, seemed, looked, etc.); intensifiers, restricting adverbs, adverbs that prop up weak verbs; descriptive adjectives that don’t actually describe anything (pretty, fast, keen, etc.). There’s more, of course. I started with line editing, then switched to style editing and finished that first, then went back to line editing. Still at it.
Then, I didn’t upload anything new to my ocular drafts account on Flickr because, hey, vacation! But here’s something new. Remember Instagram before Facebook bought it, buried it in shit, poured gasoline over it, and set it on fire? I loved Instagram with a passion, and I hate Facebook for that one thing alone. Now, besides Flickr, I’m also freshly on Glass (J. Martin | @gyokusai). It’s a brand-new subscription-based social photo app for iOS, $29.99/first year, for the time being via invites or waiting list only. No ”likes,” no dark patterns, no fucking algorithms, all focused on photos and comments. Still pretty basic, but I enjoy it so far. (If you’re interested, I have some invites.)
Finally, as a game recommendation, Walden, a Game. It’s $9.99, but if you donated for itch.io’s Black Lives Matter bundle (“Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality”), you already own it. You play Henry Thoreau, living at Walden Pond through his first full year. Along an exploratory narrative, you learn a lot about the seasons in Massachusetts and its flora and fauna, about American Transcendentalism, the Abolitionism movement Thoreau was part of, and how to live in a cabin in the woods. You collect food, mend your clothes, chop firewood, read books at your favorite reading place at the lake, repair your cabin, raise beans…and explore.
The weather’s cleared up. Off to the balcony with a good read & a cold brew.
J.