Earlier today I wrote a long rant about pop-science books (particularly mediocre ones), but I ended up scrapping it. After I ran out of hot air I hit a wall and did not want to post something that 1) I couldn't find a good way to finish, and 2) I wasn't going to be proud of. I was a bit cranky today anyway, so as was always good advice when I was little, I took a nap.
I had meant to wake up and work on my book some more, but I slept longer than I intended to. That's ok; maybe I'll be up later since I got some rest and put in the work then. Even if I don't, though, I did manage to nearly complete the human evolution chapter this past week. (My new laptop computer kept freezing up, and needs to be repaired, but it was working long enough for me to make some substantial headway.) I have a few more notes about Australopithecus garhi and changes in climate/ecology during the past seven million years to introduce, but the narrative is essentially complete.
The problem is that the chapter is going to require some severe editing. After I put in some new material about bonobos, miocene apes, adapoids, omomyids, and other topics, the chapter ballooned to nearly 40 pages. I may have to sacrifice some cherished gems of information, but unless I split the chapter into two, there's no way for me to do it all.
I still have a number of chapters to complete (early tetrapods, elephant evolution, the origin of mammals, etc.), but I am at least inching closer to the stage where I can send out my proposal. I even have an idea for a second book that I'm going to keep on the back burner. I'm thinking of it as my "In the Shadow of Man" project; a book about primates and people who were exploited and forgotten. It would be a good forum to share the stories of the various chimpanzees named "Proconsul", John Daniel the gorilla, Ota Benga, Ham the chimpanzee astronaut, and others. Originally I was intending my next book to be a popular book about hyenas, complemented by one about leopards, but I think my new idea would serve as a sort of epilogue to what I'm working on now.
The trouble is that I have to finish my current book first! I have lots of ideas, and I would really love to pursue the stories I have in mind, but I need to concentrate and complete the work at hand. If it is enough of success, I'm hoping to use the momentum gained from it to turn to science writing full time (at least for a few years). Right now, though, I have to prove myself, and I am working hard to make Life's Splendid Riddle the best book that I possibly can.
Here is the latest Wordle for the chapter;
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For previous posts dealing with this project, see the "Books" and "Great Book Project" archives.
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I would like to encourage you to keep ALL of the material in your chapter on Human Evolution. There is not much more maddening than a book that goes into too little detail about something important...and hominids are important.
Enjoy those naps while you can. My kids wake me up as soon as I drift off...
If you remove gems of information, please consider endnotes.
It's always better to have too many ideas than not enough. Sounds like you've got more than enough information to fill a sizeable tome as is, brother. I always like reading about your writing progress, though it tends to give me a pit in my stomach as I'm reminded of what I SHOULD be doing instead of playing LittleBigPlanet. ;-)
i hope that you are keeping a file for your ideas for future writings.
why do you think the chapter to be too long? is there a formula you have to meet for specific page count?
i would rather be left with too much information than not enough. i have encountered situations where i am left wanting more, but the author never followed up with a sequel.