Just finished revising the first of my new short stories. Either I'm getting lazy or I hit this one on first draft. All of my critiquers thought it was pretty much there on the first draft, and I was happy with it too, so I made only minimal changes to it. I guess I'll find out whether I was right or not when I send it out, probably tomorrow.

I have a slight nagging feeling that I'm not being as harsh with myself as I used to be when I revise stories. Part of this is because getting the balance of elements right in a story is difficult, and that balance can be pushed out and the flow interupted if I revise too much. Another part might simply be that I'm getting better at my first drafts. Not that I've ever really liked revising my writing anyway.

(I'm having a bit of a deja vu moment. I feel I may have said all of that in an earlier journal entry this month. Can't be bothered to go and check though.)

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Today the leader of the (UK) Conservative Party, talking about today's vote of confidence in him, said that like everyone else he would be watching Lord of the Rings this Christmas but that real life wasn't about the White Knights over the seas. I was left wondering whether he had actually either read Lord of the Rings or watched the first two installments.

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The earth, apparently, has been buffeted by a large solar flare. Or, at least, that is what the BBC claim. That seems a little bit of hyperbole. I certainly didn't feel any buffeting. I was kind of imagining the way that the Star Trek crew all jump to one side when simulating a direct hit to the Enterprise. Well, I've been watching the rest of the office staff all day, and they've yet to do a synchronised lurch.