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| At the end of the trail….. |
Ah….
That’s my sigh of satisfaction, having just written the real final line of the novel in progress. I wrote the last chapter weeks ago of course, only to decide it needed an epilogue to tie up some loose threads and give a better sense of closure.
Not every loose thread. Not one tidy bow. But so ends my first major edit. I’ll take a couple days off to clear my head, then launch into a second edit. This one will focus on polishing and trimming. My word count is a little higher than I (and my agent) want it to be (anyone surprised?), and I’ve made a list of minor changes to work in. This edit will be fast, done by the end of the year, God willing.
So. A little progress report to mark this December day.
And by the by, I read a very good post today from author (The War of Art) Steven Pressfield, about Villains, and why we must give them their say. And make it believable! “The villain… carries the counter-theme. The more convincing his case, the better the story.”Click over and share in his writing wisdom!
Congratulations on completing a sigh-worthy epilogue, Lori. I wish you well as you embark on the next round of edits. I feel for you on the cutting. I can certainly relate since I'm a member of the Wordy Writers Club myself.
Thanks, Keli! It's the shortest first draft I've ever set out to trim, at least. Not like that first 320+K monster, or even the next one, which came in at 136K and got slimmed down. I looked at a random scene yesterday and cut about a fourth of it out, just for wordiness, so I'm hopeful there's plenty of room for trimming.
I doubt I'll ever be out of the Wordy Writers Club, but I'm learning to cope with the affliction. 🙂
Congratulations on finishing! I just finished my editing and it felt great! (I am not big on editing.) I'd rather be creating, for sure.
Happy chopping!
Sherrinda, I enjoy editing when it's line by line (what I'm doing next), not quite so much on a macro level (what I just finished). Line by line polishing blends the fun of reading with the fun of writing, and getting immersed in my own story world in a way I don't usually when writing a first draft. I'm so caught up with getting it down on the page that first go, I can't get as immersed as I'd like to be. But once something's on the page, look out!