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Notes from the Revision Frontline II - Now with added ghouls!
First - we told my parents and family over the weekend, so now it's official - Kyle and I are engaged! ^_^ We just need to find a way to involve Holly in the wedding, and all is well. Can spaniels be bridesmaids?
Anyway. I cut almost 10k out of Wild over the weekend. Goddamn, that was traumatic. I lost so much material that I thought was blistering, well-written stuff (I say "lost," it's actually just in the Outtake file, which is now over 30k itself). But the upshot of that massive deletation frenzy is a pacier, more streamlined plot, refocused and revitalized, and with more ghouls masquerading as homeless people.
See, my Ex Agent thought Wild was too simple, so I added in a couple of subplots to complicate matters. Problem is, in retrospect, I can see that this was just panicked plotting on my part, and it made the whole book into the unruly mess it is today. By eliminating a big, big chunk of extraneous plot, I've been left with the bare bones of the very first draft. Now that I'm adding (carefully!) to that a few new ideas, the whole thing is started to just feel better. It's like I can see the shape of the novel in my head, and it is now an aesthetically pleasing Greek amphora, instead of a mind-melting Lovecraftian Thing On The Doorstep. What?
There's still a lot of hard work to do, and I am behind the schedule I set for myself (I blame day-job stress entirely), especially now I'm working on the edits for SILVER KISS too. But I feel pretty chipper because I know the hard work is paying off. Phew!
Anyway. I cut almost 10k out of Wild over the weekend. Goddamn, that was traumatic. I lost so much material that I thought was blistering, well-written stuff (I say "lost," it's actually just in the Outtake file, which is now over 30k itself). But the upshot of that massive deletation frenzy is a pacier, more streamlined plot, refocused and revitalized, and with more ghouls masquerading as homeless people.
See, my Ex Agent thought Wild was too simple, so I added in a couple of subplots to complicate matters. Problem is, in retrospect, I can see that this was just panicked plotting on my part, and it made the whole book into the unruly mess it is today. By eliminating a big, big chunk of extraneous plot, I've been left with the bare bones of the very first draft. Now that I'm adding (carefully!) to that a few new ideas, the whole thing is started to just feel better. It's like I can see the shape of the novel in my head, and it is now an aesthetically pleasing Greek amphora, instead of a mind-melting Lovecraftian Thing On The Doorstep. What?
There's still a lot of hard work to do, and I am behind the schedule I set for myself (I blame day-job stress entirely), especially now I'm working on the edits for SILVER KISS too. But I feel pretty chipper because I know the hard work is paying off. Phew!
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You can do it!
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Congratulations on your engagement! :)
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(Oh come on, I wasn't going to just let that one escape!)
Congrats to you and Kyle, and good luck with the rest of the revisions!
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