Halfway Points

So I rapidly approach the last halfway point in the revision process.

The first halfway point was completing the revision of Volume 1 of my novel, where I could physically put aside the first printed and bound "half". That was an achievement in itself.

But it wasn't really halfway, as Volume 2 has 3 chapters more than Volume 1, so last night I passed the second halfway mark by revising to the end of Chapter 22, effectively having revised more than half of the novel's 43 Chapters.

Except, as I'm sure sure you'll appreciate, this was not quite the true halfway point, as I had not yet revised more than half of the novel's 1230 pages. Tonight's effort, which saw a whole Chapter redrafted (there's nothing quite like knocking off a whole Chapter in a night to get the blood pumping), brings me in sight of that goal by bringing me up to page 605.

So yes, each of these is a halfway point, and each one is a goal that must be set and overcome to find success at the end of the road. I figure that whatever arbitrary measures I put in place to attend to the monumental task at hand, any that keep me feeling like this is not a job bigger than I can actually complete has to be good. On the plus side, 600 pages in and the quality of the writing has improved over the course of the second draft, which has meant less actual rewriting to be done by me anyway. So maybe I actually passed halfway some time ago, and now I'm on the downhill run. I sure hope so.

In other halfway news, my Mum has corrected my halfway activities as regards her Corned Beef, which apparently is nothing like her Corned Beef at all. Also on the note of my Mum's cooking, I made the Tangy Sweet Curry which has been raised here in the Slow Cooker on Monday, letting it cook while I was at work. I prepped it on Sunday night, and to keep things interesting (and because I was only cooking for me) I added a bit more Curry Powder than safety guidelines recommend. Now, a night's marination and a day's very slow cooking has a way of really bringing out the best in a curry, even a mild one. Diners are advised to bring extra water, perhaps by Elephant if possible. As I have not mastered this recipe for the slow cooker, I won't post it here. But the leftovers that I had tonight showed that with a night in the fridge, even a killer curry can show a bit of maturity. It was served with a panful of crunchy cabbage cooked in butter and salt. I'll be looking for ways to make cabbage interesting too, as its the only vege I have in the fridge until Saturday. Last weekend's attempts to get to the market were a washout - literally. I didn't have a big enough boat to bring the veges home.

And for the record, here is the link to the Beef Ragu I mentioned briefly yesterday. Go National Radio!