keep your hands off my but, and 16 days to go

what exactly is the difference between a sliver and a splinter. here are both definitions. can you tell the difference?

Verb: Break or cause to break into small sharp fragments
Noun: A small, thin, sharp piece of wood, glass, or similar material broken off from a larger piece.

Verb: Cut or break (something) into small, thin, narrow pieces.
Noun: A small, thin, narrow piece of something cut or split off a larger piece.

yes, i am in the editing stage where word choice can drive you crazy. it's a little hysterical how precious and guarded i can become over words.

one of my crit buddies has been reading my manuscript. she'll send me corrections on large themes and plot problems, but then also smaller edits on sentence structure. it's all fabulously helpful. but i have to laugh at my reaction to some edits. here's how it goes:

corrie's sentence: But I saw it.
critt'ers suggestion: I saw it.

in my tiny basement apartment this is what happens next:

i remove the "but." i frown. i read the sentence aloud. i put the "but" back in. clearly, i think, the but lends much greater significance to that sentence. i sigh. i take it out, then think, f*$# it. "it's my but. what's one but? i can keep it there if i want to." and then feeling like some rebel, i read it once more. "HA today, the but stays!"

most likely next week, i'll chop it out without even remembering it had caused so much angst.

so that's what i'm heading back to now. a little good time back and forth with myself. who said the writing lifestyle wasn't sexy?

for your enjoyment, here is this week's hiphop video. i'm hiding in the back. 2 weeks off after being sick was clearly showing. so instead of searching for me, watch the boy dancing in front. he is AMAZING. when we're paired off into smaller groups i'm psyched when he's in mine. he makes you better.

wouldn't it be great it we had someone like that around us all the time. oh right, that's what the point of finding a spouse is supposed to be. maybe? right?

ps splinter was the first set of definitions. did you get it right?