#amediting

After I wrote the last blogpost, I went to work on rewriting the ending to the second novella. I didn't realize that task would take up my entire weekend. I pulled out nearly four thousand words. And have since added another two thousand to the original story. This leaves me with 41K for a total. Not bad.

/www.morguefile.org/pippalou

I didn't think it was going to be so hard to write the end, but in order for me to have it all tied up, I needed something really wild. And I decided I was going to have the detective question a suspect who had Alzheimers'. That will be the last scene I write for the story. Then it's just cleaning up, line edit, and one last read through.

I'm pleased with the story and should have listened to my gut in the first place. Then I wouldn't be revising. I had a lot of tricky intersecting clues that had to be found and time frames that needed to happen. That was a lot of back and forth. I think instead of twenty, I have eighteen chapters now. Paring all the unnecessary words.

I find I need to take breaks when I edit, a lot more so than when I write. I make myself take breaks. Otherwise, I'd look like Rocky. How many times did I say to myself, I wish I had thought to make an outline, synopsis, anything to help me remember at one point in the story does this take place. It's frustrating to not remember. But once I find it, I change it and move on. It's the finding.

I'm hoping to finish it today. Then I can get back to the the chick who fell out of the sky. I totally wish I could use that for a title. But it sounds so dragon tattoo. Best leave it alone.

Back to editing.

Robynne Rand (c) 2016