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the deep blue with the silver keys。 every one was an abhorsen。
鈥済o back；鈥潯hey chorused。 鈥済o back。鈥�
鈥渋 can鈥檛；鈥潯obbed sabriel。 鈥渋鈥檓 dead！ i haven鈥檛 the strength 。 。 。鈥�
鈥測ou are the last abhorsen；鈥潯he voices whispered； the shining shapes closing in。 鈥測ou cannot pass this way until there is another。 you do have the strength within you。 live； abhorsen； live 。 。 。鈥�
suddenly； she did have the strength。 enough to crawl； wade and fall back up the river； and gingerly edge back into life； her shining escort dropping back at the very last。 one of them鈥敗erhaps her father鈥攍ightly touched her hand in the instant before she left the realm of death behind。
a face swam into view鈥攖ouchstone鈥檚； staring down at her。 sound hit her ears； distant； raucous bells that seemed out of place； till she realized they were ambulance bells； ambulances racing in from the town。 she could sense no dead at all； nor feel any great magic； free or charter。 but then； kerrigor was gone； and they were nearly forty miles from the wall 。 。 。
鈥渓ive； sabriel； live；鈥潯ouchstone was muttering； holding her icy hands； his own eyes so clouded with tears he hadn鈥檛 noticed hers opening。
sabriel smiled； then grimaced as the pain came back。 she looked from side to side； wondering how long it would take touchstone to realize。
the electric lights had e back on in parts of the hall； and soldiers were placing lanterns out again。 there were more survivors than she鈥檇 expected； tending to the wounded； propping up dangerous brickwork； even sweeping up the brick…dust and grave mold。
there were also many dead； and sabriel sighed as she let her senses roam。 colonel horyse； killed outside on the steps； magistrix greenwood； her innocent schoolfriend ellimere； six other girls； at least half the soldiers 。 。 。
her eyes wandered to closer regions； to the two sleeping cats； the two silver rings next to her on the floor。
鈥渟abriel！鈥�
touchstone had finally noticed。 sabriel turned her gaze back to him； and lifted her head cautiously。
he鈥檇 removed her sword； she saw； and several of her schoolfriends had cast a healing spell； good enough for the moment。 typically； touchstone had done nothing for his own leg。
鈥渟abriel；鈥潯e said again。 鈥測ou鈥檙e alive！鈥�
鈥測es；鈥潯aid sabriel； with some surprise。 鈥渋 am。鈥�
how i write： the process of creating a book garth nix offers some notes on his craft to the readers of the perfectbound e…book edition of sabriel this is a brief overview of how i go about writing a book； which may well be quite different from many other writers and different to the way you like to work yourself。 however； in amongst the cries of 鈥渉ow could he work like that！；鈥潯here may be some useful pieces of information to help you with your own writing。
to me； there are really four stages to writing a book； though they do overlap each other； swap places at times； or even take over for far longer than they should。 these stages are： thinking； planning； writing； and revising。 there is also a fifth stage； that runs concurrently with the above： staying motivated。
thinking most of my books seem to stem from a single image or thought that lodges in my brain and slowly grows into something that needs to be expressed。
that thought may be a 鈥渨hat if？鈥潯r perhaps just an image。 sabriel largely began from a photograph i saw of hadrian鈥檚 wall； which had a green lawn in front of it and snow on the hills behind it。 many other thoughts； conscious or otherwise； grew out； upon； and over that single image； both before and during the writing of the book。
typically i seem to think about a book for a year or so before i actually start writing。 in this thinking stage； i often write a few key points in my 鈥渋deas鈥�
notebook。 at this stage； i merely put down bullet points or mnemonics that will remind me of what i was thinking。 this can be very useful later on； particularly if the gestation period for a book is several years。 titles are also handy to jot down。 the right title can be very useful as the seed from which the whole idea of the book can grow。
planning for all my longer works （i。e。； the novels）； i write chapter outlines so i can have the pleasure of departing from them later on。 actually； while i do always depart from them； writing a chapter outline is a great discipline for thinking out the story and it also provides a road map or central skeleton you can e back to if you get lost。 i often write the prologue or initial chapter first to get the impetus for the story going and then write the outline。
usually； i have to write a revised chapter outline two or three times in the course of writing the whole book； but once again it does focus the mind on where the story is going and where you want it to go。
writing short stories； articles； and items on my website i type straight into the puter （mostly a macintosh； though i also use a pc） in microsoft word。 however； i write the novels longhand first。
nowadays i use a waterman fountain pen （for shade鈥檚 children and lirael）； though i used felt…tips earlier。 i was interested to see that stephen king wrote one of his recent novels with a waterman fountain pen。 he reportedly found that this did influence the actual style of the book。
the advantages of writing longhand are several； at least for me。 first of all； i write in relatively small handbound notebooks which are much more transportable than any sort of puter； particularly since you can take them away for several weeks without having to consider power supplies； batteries； or printouts。 parts of sabriel； for example； were written on a trip through the middle east。 parts of shade鈥檚 children and lirael were written at the beach。
the other major advantage of writing longhand is that when i type up a chapter from my notebook； i rewrite as i type； so the first printout is actually a second draft。 sometimes i change it quite a lot； sometimes not so much； but it gives me a distinctive and separate stage where i can revise。
the first page of the first chapter of sabriel （as opposed to the prologue； which i wrote earlier； before i did my chapter outline） was actually writ… ten in a spiral…bound notebook； which i tore out and pasted into my preferred black and red notebook （ /鈥潯 /鈥潯r mm x mm 鈥渟ewn memo book鈥潱�
at the typing stage； i cleaned up the writing a bit and it had further minor revisions later； but in this case at least； it stayed much the same。 you can see the original manuscript page and pare it to the finished version on my website。
which brings me to revising。
revising as i said； when i type the handwritten words； i am also carrying out my first major stage of revision。
however； i usually have to go through at least two revision stages after that。 the first of these is when i first print out the typed chapter。 i go through it and make changes in pen； which i will incorporate later。 the second stage （and sometimes a third time as well） occurs when the entire manuscript is finished for the first time。 i leave that big； beautiful pile of printout on the shelf for a few weeks； then sit down and read the whole thing； making corrections as i go。
finally； i bundle the ms。 off to my australian and u。s。 publishers and wait for their reaction（s）； which generally will include some suggestions for revision and occasionally a request for rewriting。 sometimes these will be good； worthwhile changes and i work them in。 sometimes they are not； and i argue about them and 鈥敗nless i can be convinced otherwise 鈥敗efuse to alter the text。 basically； i try and keep an open mind； since there is nearly always room for improvement。
staying motivated i鈥檓 often asked by aspiring writers how i can invest a year or more in writing a full…length novel。
my stock answer is that i never sit down and think 鈥渋 have to write a novel today。鈥潯 sit down and think 鈥渋 have to write a chapter；鈥潯r 鈥渞evise a chapter；鈥�
or 鈥渇inish the chapter。鈥潯hat way； it鈥檚 only ever ；…； words that are the immediate goal。
as a further motivational gimmick； i always use the word count utility when i鈥檝e finished typing a chapter； and write that down； with a r