Revising Chant - I

[blairmacg]

After compiling specific notes and general comments from beta readers, looking for patterns, combining similar problems, and setting aside the two suggestions I decided against, I had thirty-seven revision notes to work with. 

Some are simple: "More conversation around 'Not much of a plan."  I know exactly where that is, and why I need to rework the section.  It's a flippant comment in the middle of what should be a sensitive conversation.  The end result may not be more than an additional two or three dialog exchanges.  Relatively speaking, that one is easy.

Others appear simple, but are not: "Define Rhythms better."  Those three words point to one of the most extensive revisions I'll need to do.  It requires small mentions, added phrases, additional sentences, an added dimension to some character interactions, and more precise individual words throughout the novel.  Getting it right means the reader will better understand the sacrifices of two characters, the motivations of another, and--looking ahead--the entire sequel to Chant.

Then there are notes that are more specific: "Would Evika push her for more information?  How curious is she?  What questions would she consider and what questions would she voice?  Decide which ones Shala will answer truthfully, which one she'll avoid, and which ones will offend her."

That's an important one.  What those two women choose to say to each other--and what they choose not to say--will become the foundation of a long-term working relationship.  It will determine how well the reader understands and believes the development of that relationship over the course of the story.

I'm also taking care of little edits as I go along, but I'm making enough changes that it'll need yet another pass.  I'm loving the Kindle text-to-speech help in that regard, but some of the pronunciations are funny.  "Iyah" becomes "Eye-ya-yah," which is really amusing when paired with the name Riasha.

So.  About 20K words finished.  About 110K to go.

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

That's impressive progress already. I hope you'll continue to post about your process and your progress. I'd love to "listen in" as you revise.

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

Sure!

There will likely be no progress today. I am trading my son for my sister's seven-year-old for the day. The little kid is in dire need of an Older Sibling Retreat.