Are we really at 20% of this revision already? Whew, the fourth draft of a years-long endeavor just whizzes by! Next Scene on Deck: Oh, cupcake. We’re gonna be spending a lot of time together. For future reference, getting a handle on a main character only during the second revision pass is ungood. Like and
This revision update gets us past the end of Act 1, which is marked not by some formulaic percentage but by Heroine being forced into the thick of the quest she had previously refused twice. Act 2 starts at that point of no return, where it’s physically impossible to walk back her decision. Like it
Revision III resumes in Heroine’s POV. Pretty sure this is her first scene of this pass in which I added more words than I deducted. The deductions were mostly the author’s compulsion to overexplain infrastructure. If I provide one solid reason why she doesn’t go one way, I don’t have to provide six reasons to
The revision continues with The Chapter of Really Long Sentences. For one character, that’s fine. He’s an academic. He’s noted at one point to “bloviate unbidden.” Heroine shouldn’t join him for several reasons: it’s windier than her established style, contrast to her conversational partner, and even lovers of long, twisty sentences get exhausted when that’s
Tracking for the third round of revision will be same as the last. The target is the final word count of the previous draft (182,580). Progress will be measured by how many words of that are removed with transfer of revised scenes to the new draft. Since it has been opined this method is dottier
*points at status bar* By the power of drudgery, I have half-assed my way to 100% of Revision Round 2! *listless confetti* This number is meaningless, but in the interest of trivia, the final word count of this draft is 182,214. Up more than 8K from the previous draft, but at least half of that
I’ve been battling a powerful urge to begin the next revision round now. Oddly enough, the portion of the book that has already been revised twice is in better shape than the remaining portion that has so far been revised only once! Obviously, going back to the beginning would be easier than moving forward with
Believe it or not, the revision clings to life despite being neglected while I serve as a memoir ghost in a futile effort to prevent my longstanding housing insecurity from deteriorating into homelessness! I have a little break while the client is off pretending to be receptive to my suggestions, so here we go. I
By the time this posts, Editor Angie will be in possession of a far-too-ugly version of the manuscript. Since my work is nowhere near done, however, the revision update show must go on. In fact, I might do another draft before I even look at her feedback. “I KNOW THAT, I WASN’T FINISHED YET!” is
In this round of revision, we’ve reached the Hate Mail scene, in which people who don’t deserve to die do. I have repeatedly interrogated the necessity of this scene because I know it’s difficult. Intentionally! Can’t trauma-bond without trauma, and this is the trauma the situation provided. It works structurally. I’ve barely altered it since