Welcome to "Phase 2"

The end of "The End." Please Stand by....
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Paul S.
Sr. Rabbit Chaser
Posts: 1361
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:11 pm
Location: Psych Ward

Welcome to "Phase 2"

Post by Paul S. »

So.

Now that we're here.... where are we?

Those of you reading this have probably received the e-mail blast I just sent out describing how I plan to proceed with "The Second Draft." Here then are a few more details re: what I hope is the method to my madness.

- - - -

The intent of what has been written so far has been to simply map out as, much as possible the rough outline of Townsend Brown's life from 1905 - 1985 -- and lend some substance and meaning to the little dash between those two dates.

The effort to date has produce a "rambling epic" that approaches 600 pages.

So naturally, the first order of business will be trying to trim down the sheer volume of the thing. I'm sure there's a good 300-some pages in there somewhere, but given that the book is really three stories in one, I might be doing well to whittle it all down to something like 400 pages.

But the real purpose of the work ahead must be not simply to decrease the size of the thing, but to increase its focus as well. We all sense that there is some unifying theme in Townsend Brown's life, but given the rambling nature of the narrative, it's not clear that those secrets are even well suggested -- let alone actually revealed.

So the purpose of the re-write must be directed at not only peeling away the unnecessary pages, but also at peeling away the layers that hide the truth we hope to reveal.

It has been a very rewarding and illuminating experience to post these chapters online, and then gauge the reaction to them as the story has evolved. In almost every instance, there has been at least one post that has given me pause, forced me to say to myself, "hmmm.... why didn't I think of that...?" So I intend to begin my return to each chapter by looking through all the comments that have been posted to the forums as the chapters were published online.

And as I do, when I find those points that seem to warrant another look and further discussion, I'll make new posts in this, the "Second Draft" section of the website. My hope is that identifying and returning to those points will give us the mechanism we need to refine the focus on the most important themes in this story.

In the meantime, you can all help me get started by thinking about these basic questions: What stays in? What comes out? What parts are well written and what parts are incomprehensible? Feel free to post away, generally speaking, as we begin getting down to the fine details.

- - - -

The other order of business I will have to face is returning to my source material and creating the footnotes that will substantiate the research we have ALL done over the years. Unfortunately, when I converted my chapters from the original MS Word docs that they were written in to the HTML files that became the final versions, whatever footnotes I'd compiled got lost in the translation. From now on I will be working in an MS Word doc again, and I must restore those footnotes, so that it doesn't look to future readers like I made all this up as I went along.

I just hope, as I begin re-reading what I've written, that I can actually recall what the sources were -- like I told myself I would be able to do when the time came, which it now has.

FYI, the discussion in this "Second Draft" section is set up to require approval of new posts and replies. I hope that does not seem too tedious, but I've set it up this way for now so that I can keep the discussion focused. The approval requirement also assures that I will see all the messages. But if it begins to look like this protocol is unwarranted or unnecessary I'll remove it.

I honestly don't know how long this is going to take. I hope that by devoting myself rigorously to the task over the summer, that I can have a "second draft" finished by Labor Day. If I'm satisfied with that result, then I might call upon you all to help me "proof-read" that draft, and then compile it into an eBook that we can sell from the website while we patiently wait for the hard-cover publishing industry to come to its senses and put this book on store and library shelves where it belongs.

- - - - -

In private correspondence with a new-ish member of our tribe, I have recently learned a new expression. I've learned that it's a fairly common process for a writer to enlist the aid of a small group of "extra eyes" that are sometimes called a "crit group."

If you are reading this, then you are probably one of the charter members of "crit group" that will be instrumental in the realization of this project. I'm am deeply and sincerely grateful to all of you for your help.

Now, like the man said, let us....

Go Forth.

--PS
Paul Schatzkin
aka "The Perfesser"
"At some point we have to deal with the facts, not what we want to believe is true." -- Jack Bauer
Langley
Senior Officer
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon Dec 25, 2006 11:31 am
Location: AUSTRALIA

Re: Welcome to "Phase 2"

Post by Langley »

Paul thanks for the email and access to the draft. Great. Lot of work ahead. Somewhere on a hard drive I hope you find the footnotes.

The name Edgar Cayce is ringing in my head and has been since I got your email. Im probably being eccentric, but the archives at ARE Virginia Beach might hold something. Havent been able to get it out of my head.
Mark Bean
Space Cadet
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:18 am
Location: Partially Out of Phase somewhere in Nevada
Contact:

Re: Welcome to "Phase 2"

Post by Mark Bean »

Hi Paul & everyone,

Wow!

You are doing a great job! I have read through the drafts and I must say you are really good.

By the way... I am now taking the time to read "The Boy Who Invented Television".

Thank you for all of your efforts,

Mark Bean
P.S. I am working on a new an improved Electrokenetic Disc configuration. Details & photos soon.
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