Tag Archives: revisions

January 21, 2022 · 8:54 PM

Missing in (In)Action

Where, oh where, has my manuscript gone?
Where, oh where, can it be?

Did you ever know exactly right where something is, only to find that that’s exactly right where it isn’t? (Please tell me it’s not just me.) I decided I’d better get busy working on Onyx Sun if I wanted to get the current round of revisions done before the end of the month, and I was sure I knew where it was (next to the computer hutch in my bedroom) – but it wasn’t.

So I thought, “Ah-ha! It’s in my editing bag downstairs in the front room.” But it wasn’t.

So now a search of my room is in order, but it’s cold up there. We’re hitting single digits and negative numbers overnight, and this is an old house so the “heat” in my room is whatever wanders up from downstairs. Needless to say, I try not to spend any time up there that doesn’t involve my bed, my furry space heater (Demon Dog), and blankets.

Still, it needs to be found, so when it gets up to the 20s(F) tomorrow I’ll launch a search mission.

If you don’t hear from me, send hot chocolate.

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February 27, 2017 · 2:24 AM

Thirteen Book Series?

So I’ve been working my way through the first round paper edits of Book 7 of The Academy of the Accord, and I’m thinking I may need to rethink the series.

There is so much overlap between the original ending of Book 5 and the starts of Books 6 and 7 that I’m thinking of taking all that overlap stuff and making it a book unto itself.

For one thing, it would certainly make editing this mess a whole lot easier in the long run.

And there is a whole lot of stuff that I had to cut because it didn’t really fit into any of them, but I saved it all because a) I’m even a packrat when it comes to computer files and b) it is still kind of needed somewhere but there’s currently just no where to put it.

And this extra book would let me expand some things that I need to put more emphasis on so it’s there for later books. (I’m looking at you, Book 11 – you and Andrek and the most confusing and convoluted family tree ever created.)

And for yet another thing, it would let me focus on just the characters that are center stage in Books 6 and 7 (Rahmael and Shander in Book 6, and Brythel in Book 7) and would cut down on a lot of repetition between the books.

It doesn’t solve all of my problems with the series, though.  I’ll still be struggling with the (re)introduction of Azlea, for instance.  Of course, I’m already not entirely sure when that happens so that’s not really a major drawback.

It won’t exactly solve the problem of Book 7 either.  It’s still going to overlap some of the others no matter when I set the beginning of it because it’s Brythel and he’s… complicated.

And this new book in the middle of things sort of comes with a couple problems of its own.

For instance, so far it’s mostly just a series of scenes with no plot. I’d need to come up with something to tie it all together and tie it into the overall story arc for the series.  (I’m pretty sure I can find something, I just have no idea what at this point.)

And of course, then it becomes Book 6 so I’ll have to renumber all of the other books and all of the files associated with them…

I think I’m going to scream now.

And the headache continues to grow.

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January 13, 2017 · 12:54 PM

Note to Self:

When you’re working on a first draft and you get to a part that is hard to write because you’re not sure what’s going to happen in the scene, write it anyhow.  Do not leave a note to [SAVE FOR REVISION] because you know what? When you get to the revisions you still have to power through that scene and really, in revisions you should be fixing stuff, not writing stuff.

(The exception, of course, is when your beta readers suggest that you add more scenes.)

Likewise, if you have two (or three or more) versions of how something happens, make the decision in the first draft, because, trust me, the Decision Fairy is not going to come alone and wave a magic red wand and delete all but one of them.

(Yes, as a matter of fact, I am dealing with both of the above.)

I have scenes to add to Onyx Sun but those are beta reader suggestions so they don’t count.  I have two written but need to figure out where to put them/how to work them in.  And I need to write a few more that occurred to me in editing, but again, those don’t count because they weren’t part of the first draft.

The Academy of the Accord, on the other hand, is rife with the above.

I’m currently doing first round paper edits of Book 6 and have two different versions of how something happens.  I think maybe I can combine them, and I hope I can because there are parts of both that I really love.

But I also have notes about things like “should probably show more interaction between Shander and his roommates and introduce them before now.”

And my favorites are things like “I have no idea where I was going with this.” (Obviously a scene written when I was too tired to have been writing.)

Or “go back and insert….”  Why didn’t I go back and insert it then?  Why? Tell me why?

And it’s not going to get any better as I work through the series.  Book 7 has several “which way should I work this?” moments, and Book 12…

*sigh*

Book 12 is an unmitigated disaster in that regard with several major points of indecision.  Or, rather, of being decided on too many things.

 

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