Draft 5 Completed

Today I finished Draft 5 of the epic novel that will not die. All 34 existing chapters are up to draft specs, tidied up and nicely formatted. And yes, that matters. There is art in them details. So … whew.

Here are the current statistics on the manuscript.

Of course, none of that means a bloody thing unless Draft 6 is better than Draft 5, and unless the whole process moves forward toward a finished book. So I have the outline and notes for the next draft all set to go.

Technical Decisions

In the process, I’ve made a couple of decisions. First, I’m staying with MS Word as my word-processing software. And it’s going to be Word 2003. The new Beta of Word 2010 is cool, sure, but I like the old application better. No accounting for taste.

I’m going to continue experimenting with Skydrive and Live Workspace for backup and work-in-process storage, but not relying on them. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the Internet isn’t ready for working in the cloud yet. It’s too hard to maintain consistent connectivity when I’m away from my hermitage.

Finally, I’m sticking with iTunes with harman/kardon speakers, and an iPod, to provide vital distraction from the miserable hoopleheads who can’t get in and out of their cars with honking their stupid horns. Assclowns.