Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)-第59章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！



suddenly；　she　did　have　the　strength。　enough　to　crawl；　wade　and　fall　back　up　the　river；　and　gingerly　edge　back　into　life；　her　shining　escort　dropping　back　at　the　very　last。　one　of　them—　perhaps　her　father—lightly　touched　her　hand　in　the　instant　before　she　left　the　realm　of　death　behind。

a　face　swam　into　view—touchstone’s；　staring　down　at　her。　sound　hit　her　ears；　distant；　raucous　bells　that　seemed　out　of　place；　till　she　realized　they　were　ambulance　bells；　ambulances　racing　in　from　the　town。　she　could　sense　no　dead　at　all；　nor　feel　any　great　magic；　free　or　charter。　but　then；　kerrigor　was　gone；　and　they　were　nearly　forty　miles　from　the　wall　。　。　。

“live；　sabriel；　live；”　touchstone　was　muttering；　holding　her　icy　hands；　his　own　eyes　so　clouded　with　tears　he　hadn’t　noticed　hers　opening。

sabriel　smiled；　then　grimaced　as　the　pain　came　back。　she　looked　from　side　to　side；　wondering　how　long　it　would　take　touchstone　to　realize。

the　electric　lights　had　e　back　on　in　parts　of　the　hall；　and　soldiers　were　placing　lanterns　out　again。　there　were　more　survivors　than　she’d　expected；　tending　to　the　wounded；　propping　up　dangerous　brickwork；　even　sweeping　up　the　brick…dust　and　grave　mold。

there　were　also　many　dead；　and　sabriel　sighed　as　she　let　her　senses　roam。　colonel　horyse；　killed　outside　on　the　steps；　magistrix　greenwood；　her　innocent　schoolfriend　ellimere；　six　other　girls；　at　least　half　the　soldiers　。　。　。

her　eyes　wandered　to　closer　regions；　to　the　two　sleeping　cats；　the　two　silver　rings　next　to　her　on　the　floor。

“sabriel！”

touchstone　had　finally　noticed。　sabriel　turned　her　gaze　back　to　him；　and　lifted　her　head　cautiously。

he’d　removed　her　sword；　she　saw；　and　several　of　her　schoolfriends　had　cast　a　healing　spell；　good　enough　for　the　moment。　typically；　touchstone　had　done　nothing　for　his　own　leg。

“sabriel；”　he　said　again。　“you’re　alive！”

“yes；”　said　sabriel；　with　some　surprise。　“i　am。”

how　i　write：　the　process　of　creating　a　book　garth　nix　offers　some　notes　on　his　craft　to　the　readers　of　the　perfectbound　e…book　edition　of　sabriel　this　is　a　brief　overview　of　how　i　go　about　writing　a　book；　which　may　well　be　quite　different　from　many　other　writers　and　different　to　the　way　you　like　to　work　yourself。　however；　in　amongst　the　cries　of　“how　could　he　work　like　that！；”　there　may　be　some　useful　pieces　of　information　to　help　you　with　your　own　writing。

to　me；　there　are　really　four　stages　to　writing　a　book；　though　they　do　overlap　each　other；　swap　places　at　times；　or　even　take　over　for　far　longer　than　they　should。　these　stages　are：　thinking；　planning；　writing；　and　revising。　there　is　also　a　fifth　stage；　that　runs　concurrently　with　the　above：　staying　motivated。

thinking　most　of　my　books　seem　to　stem　from　a　single　image　or　thought　that　lodges　in　my　brain　and　slowly　grows　into　something　that　needs　to　be　expressed。

that　thought　may　be　a　“what　if？”　or　perhaps　just　an　image。　sabriel　largely　began　from　a　photograph　i　saw　of　hadrian’s　wall；　which　had　a　green　lawn　in　front　of　it　and　snow　on　the　hills　behind　it。　many　other　thoughts；　conscious　or　otherwise；　grew　out；　upon；　and　over　that　single　image；　both　before　and　　during　the　writing　of　the　book。

typically　i　seem　to　think　about　a　book　for　a　year　or　so　before　i　actually　start　writing。　in　this　thinking　stage；　i　often　write　a　few　key　points　in　my　“ideas”

notebook。　at　this　stage；　i　merely　put　down　bullet　points　or　mnemonics　that　will　remind　me　of　what　i　was　thinking。　this　can　be　very　useful　later　on；　particularly　if　the　gestation　period　for　a　book　is　several　years。　titles　are　also　handy　to　jot　down。　the　right　title　can　be　very　useful　as　the　seed　from　which　the　whole　idea　of　the　book　can　grow。

planning　for　all　my　longer　works　（i。e。；　the　novels）；　i　write　chapter　outlines　so　i　can　have　the　pleasure　of　departing　from　them　later　on。　actually；　while　i　do　always　depart　from　them；　writing　a　chapter　outline　is　a　great　discipline　for　thinking　out　the　story　and　it　also　provides　a　road　map　or　central　skeleton　you　can　e　back　to　if　you　get　lost。　i　often　write　the　prologue　or　initial　chapter　first　to　get　the　impetus　for　the　story　going　and　then　write　the　outline。

usually；　i　have　to　write　a　revised　chapter　outline　two　or　three　times　in　the　course　of　writing　the　whole　book；　but　once　again　it　does　focus　the　mind　on　where　the　story　is　going　and　where　you　want　it　to　go。

writing　　short　stories；　articles；　and　items　on　my　website　i　type　straight　into　the　puter　（mostly　a　macintosh；　though　i　also　use　a　pc）　in　microsoft　word。　however；　i　write　the　novels　longhand　first。

nowadays　i　use　a　waterman　fountain　pen　（for　shade’s　children　and　lirael）；　though　i　used　felt…tips　earlier。　i　was　interested　to　see　that　stephen　king　wrote　one　of　his　recent　novels　with　a　waterman　fountain　pen。　he　reportedly　found　that　this　did　influence　the　actual　style　of　the　book。

the　advantages　of　writing　longhand　are　several；　at　least　for　me。　first　of　all；　i　write　in　relatively　small　handbound　notebooks　which　are　much　more　transportable　than　any　sort　of　puter；　particularly　since　you　can　take　them　away　for　several　weeks　without　having　to　consider　power　supplies；　batteries；　or　printouts。　parts　of　sabriel；　for　example；　were　written　on　a　trip　through　the　middle　east。　parts　of　shade’s　children　and　lirael　were　written　at　the　beach。

the　other　major　advantage　of　writing　longhand　is　that　when　i　type　up　a　chapter　from　my　notebook；　i　rewrite　as　i　type；　so　the　first　printout　is　actually　a　second　draft。　sometimes　i　change　it　quite　a　lot；　sometimes　not　so　much；　but　it　gives　me　a　distinctive　and　separate　stage　where　i　can　revise。

the　first　page　of　the　first　chapter　of　sabriel　（as　opposed　to　the　prologue；　which　i　wrote　earlier；　before　i　did　my　chapter　outline）　was　actually　writ…　　ten　in　a　spiral…bound　notebook；　which　i　tore　out　and　pasted　into　my　preferred　black　and　red　notebook　（　/”　x　　/”　or　mm　x　mm　“sewn　memo　book”）。

at　the　typing　stage；　i　cleaned　up　the　writing　a　bit　and　it　had　further　minor　revisions　later；　but　in　this　case　at　least；　it　stayed　much　the　same。　you　can　see　the　original　manuscript　page　and　pare　it　to　the　finished　version　on　my　website。

which　brings　me　to　revising。

revising　as　i　said；　when　i　type　the　handwritten　words；　i　am　also　carrying　out　my　first　major　stage　of　revision。

however；　i　usually　have　to　go　through　at　least　two　revision　stages　after　that。　the　first　of　these　is　when　i　first　print　out　the　typed　chapter。　i　go　through　it　and　make　changes　in　pen；　which　i　will　incorporate　later。　the　second　stage　（and　sometimes　a　third　time　as　well）　occurs　when　the　entire　manuscript　is　finished　for　the　first　time。　i　leave　that　big；　beautiful　pile　of　printout　on　the　shelf　for　a　few　weeks；　then　sit　down　and　read　the　whole　thing；　making　corrections　as　i　go。

finally；　i　bundle　the　ms。　off　to　my　australian　and　u。s。　publishers　and　wait　for　their　reaction（s）；　which　generally　will　include　some　suggestions　for　revision　and　occasionally　a　request　for　rewriting。　sometimes　　these　will　be　good；　worthwhile　changes　and　i　work　them　in。　sometimes　they　are　not；　and　i　argue　about　them　and　—　unless　i　can　be　convinced　otherwise　—　refuse　to　alter　the　text。　basically；　i　try　and　keep　an　open　mind；　since　there　is　nearly　always　room　for　improvement。

staying　motivated　i’m　often　asked　by　aspiring　writers　how　i　can　invest　a　year　or　more　in　writing　a　full…length　novel。

my　stock　answer　is　that　i　never　sit　down　and　think　“i　have　to　write　a　novel　today。”　i　sit　down　and　think　“i　have　to　write　a　chapter；”　or　“revise　a　chapter；”

or　“finish　the　chapter。”　that　way；　it’s　only　ever　；…；　words　that　are　the　immediate　goal。

as　a　further　motivational　gimmick；　i　always　use　the　word　count　utility　when　i’ve　finished　typing　a　chapter；　and　write　that　down；　with　a　running　total　of　words　and　the　date　in　the　front　of　my　first　notebook　for　the　current　work　（each　novel　takes　between　five　and　six　of　those　red　and　black　numbers）。

i　also　write　down　the　music　i’ve　been　listening　to　as　i　write　and　anything　else　that　might　be　interesting　to　look　back　upon。　like　the　fact　that　i　uploaded　my　first　home　page　on　　april　！　the　word　count　is　a　relatively　small　thing；　but　it　has　an　amazing　psychological　effect；　particularly　as　　more　and　more　chapters　appear　and　the　word　total　grows。　i　find　it　very　encouraging；　particularly　in　the　first　third　of　the　book；　which　always　seems　to　take　the　majority　of　the　time。

summary　here　are　several　one…liners　that　sum　up　my　writing　philosophy。　some　i’ve　made　up　and　some　are　probably　paraphrases　of　other　people’s　sayings；　only　i　can’t　remember　who　said　what。　（though　i　think　the　“read；　write；　revise”　one　is　from　robert　heinlein。）　“you　can’t　write　if　you　don’t　read。”

“just　write　one　chapter　at　a　time　and　one　day　you’ll　be　surprised　by　your　own　finished　novel。”

“writing　anything　is　better　than　not　writing　something　perfect。”

“read；　write；　revise；　submit；　repeat。”

“expect　rejection；　but　don’t　let　it　stop　you　submitting　again。”

“submit　the　very　best　work　you　can；　not　the　first　draft。　always　read　it　again　before　you　send　it。”

about　the　author　garth　nix　was　born　in　　and　grew　up　in　canberra；　australia。　after　taking　his　degree　in　professional　writing　from　the　uni