Wee Small Hours

At work in the wee hours

I couldn't sleep this morning.  (What else is new?)  So, I decided to get up and get some writing done.  Everything is so still--the traffic hasn't begun humming along Boulevard Jean-Jaures, and the garbage collectors are mercifully late this morning.

I've been at my desk since 4:45 and have actually managed to get some wiring done.  Perhaps it's not necessarily great sentence structure, but as for me, I improve on the re-write.  I armed myself with a cup of really good coffee, my colored pens for editing, and some ambition.  I am determined to make some headway on this translation project. 

I have to confess that I am getting a little sick of it. The job of editing and smoothing out this stuffy French academic prose to streamlined Americanized English feels daunting.  I have the first quarter of the book done to my satisfaction.  Right now it's in the hands of two new sets of eyes for further proof-reading, I hope to send it to the publisher this coming week.  Keep your fingers crossed.

In a cocoon in the dark

But there are still 150 pages to go and some of these remaining pages are a hard slog. But, as |I always say, mostly to others, "How do you eat an elephant?"  And the answer is, "One bite at a time, Char, one bite at a time."

Tools for editing

Now, at 7:45, and it's just beginning to get light outside.  The crescent moon is shining in the kitchen window and the morning star is riding close by.  One neighbor across the street has turned on a light and begun some activity for the day.  In a little while, I will tend to my morning shower and shampoo and get ready to go to market.  And even though I might fall asleep this afternoon, at least I have accomplished something today.