DZ-Jay's Random Blog

How many words have you written so far? Genesis in the Hebrew language version is 32,000 words, second largest book in the Bible.

It occurred to me that with all the pieces of the map I've been including in the blog, you could probably piece together the whole thing.

 

-dZ.

How many words have you written so far? Genesis in the Hebrew language version is 32,000 words, second largest book in the Bible.

 

Well, according to my word processor software, the story so far comprises:

• 13,789 words
• 275 paragraphs
• 1,229 lines
• 43 pages (including 4 leads for the title, dedication, and filler, and an extra page where I kept the passages I removed -- just in case I want to reuse any of it later)

Storywise itself, I'm on Chapter 9, page 38.

 

Not bad for a short story which I expected would go no more than 10 pages, but still not some Great American Novel. Not even close. Hehehe.

 

-dZ.

I just checked, and for the story pages only, 13,446 words, including chapter titles.

 

I don't know how many it would be when translated to Hebrew.

Cool! I have a few unfinished (unpublished) novels that range between 6,000 - 15,000 words as well so I can get a feel for much text it is.

It seems the Bible in its original Hebrew and Greek languages is about 611K words. The various English language versions range from 728 - 783K of which the King James Authorized version is the longest. It would suggest that Christmas Carol would be 15-20% shorter if written in effective Hebrew, but perhaps you could optimize your own language too and reduce the word count a few percent.

It seems the Bible in its original Hebrew and Greek languages is about 611K words. The various English language versions range from 728 - 783K of which the King James Authorized version is the longest. It would suggest that Christmas Carol would be 15-20% shorter if written in effective Hebrew, but perhaps you could optimize your own language too and reduce the word count a few percent.

 

Yeah, I don't think it's going to grow that much more. I think it am a little bit over the half-way mark, so perhaps it'll grow to about 20K works in total. Then with a few illustrations peppered here and there, it'll probably make for about 80 to 90 pages in the current layout.

 

Do you have children that may be interested in reading the Christmas Carol story?

 

-dZ.

Nope, I am a happy bachelor and even my nephews are a bit too old to really be in the target group for your story.

Nope, I am a happy bachelor and even my nephews are a bit too old to really be in the target group for your story.

 

Well, too bad.

 

It's probably not your thing (it is really a Christmas fairy tale), but if you are interested, I wouldn't mind sending you an advanced manuscript once I complete it. I think it's important to get feedback, even though I'm scared to death of hearing that it's not good.

 

Don't feel pressured to respond at all. I have two other elves, apart from my Wife and nephew, providing feedback and proofreading assistance.

 

-dZ.

We can keep in touch in case you want feedback from someone with English as their secondary language.

 

Now, go on try to guide Carol further into the caves! I don't know what kind of elf she is, but I remember from playing Nethack that the elf class in that game tends to have a bit of extra sensory perception, very good at finding doors in walls you walk past without really looking for those. Perhaps you don't want to introduce such elements into the story, but out of all the species it would seem that elves might be among those best equipped to handle the fog.

We can keep in touch in case you want feedback from someone with English as their secondary language.

 

Sure. You would be forgiven for not knowing about it, but English is also my secondary language. I am Latin-American and Spanish is my mother tongue.

 

And one of the elves proofreading the story is a Belgian friend who speaks Flemish as a first language. She has an English degree, so I trust her feedback.

 

It seems international adults are fond of the Carol story. Now, if I can only get American kids to like it as well ... Hehe!

 

 

Now, go on try to guide Carol further into the caves! I don't know what kind of elf she is, but I remember from playing Nethack that the elf class in that game tends to have a bit of extra sensory perception, very good at finding doors in walls you walk past without really looking for those. Perhaps you don't want to introduce such elements into the story, but out of all the species it would seem that elves might be among those best equipped to handle the fog.

 

Well, she's not really a Tolkien elf. She's a typical "Santa's helper" elf, as depicted in traditional American Christmas folklore: about 4 feet tall, with pointy ears, green outfits with pointy hats, smart and hard-working, and with just a touch of magic in them. They are cheery and merry, and full of Christmas Spirit and joy.

 

In my mind, they are like a cross between a Fairy and a Hobbit, if that makes sense.

 

On top of all that, Carol Greenleaf has a spirit of adventure and is very resourceful, like Bilbo Baggins ... or Laura Croft.

 

-dZ.