Almost finished with final (haha - in editing, nothing is final) edits to Chapter 1, and I'm moving onto Chapter 2. The thing that I always add in the last few rounds of editing are physical descriptions - clothes, hair, settings, etc. I can see it all really clearly in my head, but I very often read back my work and realise that I haven't actually conveyed any of that to my reader... |
I was all ready to go charging into revising Chapter 18 and thence proceeding in an orderly fashion through Chapters 19-22, right to the end, and wrapping up a full first draft perhaps by the end of the year... but no, my muse (or whatever) just didn't want to do that... ...I'm back revising Chapter 1, folks! The good(?) news is that I may post it on here soon, I would like to get some feedback on how it works as an opener/whether it makes folks want to read the rest of The Novel! |
No writing today as I had a day wandering around London with a friend... and couldn't quite be bothered to organise myself to bring my writing notebook on the train with me. Still, I'm looking forward to this week's writing, because I'm moving onto edit chapters 18 through 22 - i.e. the climax, denouement (or are those two the same thing?!?) and resolution of The Novel! |
Continued small edits to Chapter 17 on the train this morning, though it was difficult because there were a couple of people talking VERY loudly about all their issues with the management at their company. That's what I get for catching the 8.25 train... everyone who catches a train before 8am generallu knows to maintain the commuter's golden silence! |
Ugh, I thought I could skip over Chapter 17 and it wouldn't need much editing... I was wrong On the other hand, I do like this bit of description that's hiding in there (in amongst all the logical inconsistencies and half-written pieces of dialogue...): The wooden catwalk they were perched on looked out over the whole dizzying array of platforms, walkways, ladders, staircases, balconies, atriums, ministries and municipal buildings, public squares, busking spots, lovers' enclaves, and guild division meeting halls which rose up together out of the dark ocean far below them to form the central bureaucracy and heart of the Five Islands. Although it was well after working hours, there were still lights glinting from dozens of office windows, and other lamps twinkling on the walkways and staircases that formed the connective tissue across it all. |
Started the writing week off with an hour (re-)writing up Chapter 15! Most of my writing time will be on the train this week - I'll be in the office three or maybe even four days, because I have a new person starting in the team who I'm inducting. Always good to have new blood... I find it difficult setting wordcount/progress goals, because I never know how long it's going to take me to write/revise a particular section or chapter - some just take longer than others, right? BUT having said that I am tentatively looking towards having a full semi-decent first draft of The Novel done by the end of the year, in a good enough state to start sharing around |
Back to writing on the train into work today Revising chapter 13 again, and spent some time trying and failing to think of a good synonym for "lump", as in: She slowly pulled herself up onto her knees and crawled back over to the lump of white fabric. Spoilers/context: it's a body, so something like "pile" doesn't really work. HMMMM. |