Beginning the first edits
I managed to wrap up "The Pack" today, meaning that I've gotten everything from "PROLOGUE" to "THE END" typed. Now begins the fun of my first edits.
There are huge chunks I want to add, and huge chunks I want to remove. This will probably take me a day or two to do these first, initial edits. Then I'll print the book off and start sticky-noting things. For example, when I refer to Lani's eyes as topaz blue, do I make sure that I follow through with that throughout the book, or do I drift off into light blue or dark blue (neither of which really describes the incandescent color of topaz).
It's a long process of verifying that I don't contradict myself with anything I've written in the past couple of months (from the inception to the initial note-taking flurry to the actual writing of the novel).
There are a few scenes I know I rushed; I'll have to go back in and carefully rearrange them, add things and subtract things and give them the old spit-and-polish treatment. Plus, there are parts of the book that I feel are painfully ambiguous. I want to solidify those so there's no confusion as to where the book is heading as we slog toward "THE END."
But, overall, I'm feeling good about "The Pack." It's not where I want it to be, but the first draft of writing is over. Now I can move on to first edits, second edits, third edits... and the fun of sending copies to Mandy and Alli, the two wonderful ladies who've volunteered to edit the book for readability.
I'm going to have to invest in printer ink - there are going to be copies of this book floating all over the place before long.
There are huge chunks I want to add, and huge chunks I want to remove. This will probably take me a day or two to do these first, initial edits. Then I'll print the book off and start sticky-noting things. For example, when I refer to Lani's eyes as topaz blue, do I make sure that I follow through with that throughout the book, or do I drift off into light blue or dark blue (neither of which really describes the incandescent color of topaz).
It's a long process of verifying that I don't contradict myself with anything I've written in the past couple of months (from the inception to the initial note-taking flurry to the actual writing of the novel).
There are a few scenes I know I rushed; I'll have to go back in and carefully rearrange them, add things and subtract things and give them the old spit-and-polish treatment. Plus, there are parts of the book that I feel are painfully ambiguous. I want to solidify those so there's no confusion as to where the book is heading as we slog toward "THE END."
But, overall, I'm feeling good about "The Pack." It's not where I want it to be, but the first draft of writing is over. Now I can move on to first edits, second edits, third edits... and the fun of sending copies to Mandy and Alli, the two wonderful ladies who've volunteered to edit the book for readability.
I'm going to have to invest in printer ink - there are going to be copies of this book floating all over the place before long.