Revising novels, huh? Man, this is turning out to be the slowest, toughest writing task I've done. See, normally when you write something and you give it to people for critiques, you can take their suggestions or not, depending on whether you think they make sense. It's not quite the same thing with your agent, at least when you're not yet published. Whether you like it or not, you have to make at least an attempt at most of the changes your agent wants.

We were watching the brilliant British sit com, Black Books last night and there was this wonderful scene that sums up how that revision process feels.

Bernard and Manny have decided to write a book together. Bernard has produced the first draft, over a thousand solid pages. Manny has some small suggestions...

M: "I just have two teeny-weeny suggestions for changes."

B: "Which are?"

M: "Well, instead of, er, the academic and the, er, journalist and the daughter, um, perhaps it could be about an elephant."

B: "An elephant."

M: "That's right."

B: "I see.... What's your other suggestion?"

M: "Well, um, instead of the Stalinist purges and the divorce and the investigation, it could be about... losing a balloon."

B: "An elephant who loses his balloon?"

M: "That's it."

B: "But... it would still be my story, in essence."

M: "Oh yeah."

Sigh.

This is from series 3 of Black Books, the episode "Hens and Elephants". Absolutely brilliant.

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Both Steph and I went to the doctor about our illnesses. We've definitely got the same illness, because we have the same symptoms and it started at the same time. Anyway, Steph got drugs and I got sent for tests. Yesterday was an X-ray, today was blood tests. I want drugs! Why can't I have drugs too? I don't feel doctored unless I've been given drugs.

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It rained solidly all yesterday. It's better than the too-hot weather that we had a few weeks ago, but Nika hates it. She's not a dog who likes water. She hates baths, hates the rain, and hates swimming. So she didn't get much of a walk. Today we'll take her to the park, which is her favourite place, so she can play with other dogs and work off some of that excess energy.