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Saturday 10 March 2018

Back to Revision

After a week away from my current WIP, I got stuck into the next round of revision.

This is what I like to call the read-thru. It's when I read the novel on my Paperwhite. Changing devices is a great way to see the story differently, and anything that doesn't work REALLY stands out: typos, excess, repetition, inconsistencies, etc.

I started on Monday, and honestly thought it would take a week to get to the end. But as soon as I started, I realised this draft would be a bit more involved than expected. Why? Because I want to make this book as creepy and strong as possible. The atmosphere, imagery and format need to complement each other, as much as the plot and characters.

By the end of the week I reached 65% and made pages & pages of changes. I've cut SO many words that the total w/c has dipped below 80k. I cut anything that bogged down the action and/or slowed the story.

Writing is such a balancing act. Background, setting, dialogue, action and atmosphere all need to fit together and move the story forward at the right pace. As much work as this story is turning out to be, I don't mind. I'm determined to make sure this book ends up as close to my vision as possible.

Some stories take longer than others to become what they need to be. Some stories don't change much from first to final draft. And some, like this one, evolve in some way every step of the way.

That means the story is eating my brain. It also means that I've spent every single moment during Mon-Fri daytime working on it. So there's been no reading for pleasure. No updating files/pics. The only thing I slotted in was watching The X-Files because I'm loving S11.

Now my March writing plans need to be revised because I'd originally slotted two lots of revision for this month. Yeah, a bit ambitious and it's not gonna happen.

Asides from the read-thru, walking (twice a day) and spending time with family, we started watching iZOMBIE S4... and decided to quit it. The new season is just so ridiculous and pretty much destroys everything that made the show so awesome, fun and clever.

Such a shame when that happens.

Anyway, it's been a busy week, so I'm looking forward to taking the weekend off.

See ya! 😀

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