I’ve basically been doing Revision 3.5 on the first half of the book, so there isn’t really “progress” to report. Because I write with continuity (threads of a scene weave through scenes before and after it, and some of those threads extend far), I can’t just pluck out a scene and be done with it. […]
Halfway through this revision pass! Rejoice and/or weep per your personal “mid level of water in a glass” setting. Roughed in the Hero POV scene that replaces the one from a purged side quest. Managed to pull in his phobia, so it’s not quite completely disjointed. It’s in bad shape, but it serves its functional
Revision resumes with arrival at Big City 1. The story has been sparsely populated up to this point. There’s a shift of dynamic between having the run of the environment and having to work around people who have their own work to do and don’t give a damn about your problems, thank you very much,
Revision resumes with a potential turn-back point, which Heroine basically ignored in her mechanical trudge toward the next plot point. I had her slow down to acknowledge both certain death ahead and equally certain but postponed death if she turns back, then tapped both her conscience and a grudge as motivation to justify moving forward.
This week on Revision Island, we get back to deeper work than changing or rearranging a smattering of words. The need was obvious, so maybe (fingers crossed) the tweak-only portions really were mostly fine. Heroine has never trusted Hero because he lies like a rug on the floor, but—as noted in the text—hers is a
This week on It’s Always Sweltering in Revision, we begin with a scene that received only nitpicks. That felt too easy and may need more substantial changes, but I can’t fix a problem I can’t identify. I’m due to send myself an updated draft and read the latest batch of scenes for speech therapy, so
Last time on The Young and the Revision, I cut an unnecessary chunk of a scene and removed a scene break to make that unit of activity more of a speed run. “Speed run” and “still over 3000 words” really aren’t compatible concepts, however. About halfway through that unit of activity, Heroine briefly observes Hero
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