What I'm Working On

Have you ever put off a task because you expected it to be grueling? That's basically how I approach developmental edits. I have pages and pages of notes from my editor, and I need to find a way to rip apart my book and put it back together to patch the holes she found. 

Guess what? It's never as bad as I think it's going to be. The hardest part is dragging my writer's brain out of the book I'm drafting to sink it into the book that needs to be edited. 

And that's where I am. I received my editorial letter early in the month. It's only a page and a half, which is virtually unheard of for me, and a good part of that is raving about the characters and twists. At the time it hit my inbox, we were recovering from a vicious windstorm and had no power. Then there was preparation for the Pennwriters Conference. 

And my editor told me "no rush." Never ever tell me "no rush" because that' permission to procrastinate. 

I ran out of excuses this week and jumped in. Once again, it's not as bad or as difficult as I anticipated, although all of the issues she pointed out are in the final pages where I didn't satisfactorily wrap up all the threads. I've been re-reading the whole thing and making notes of where I can plant a bit of internal dialogue or where I can insert a touch of foreshadowing to go along with the changes I need to make near the end. All of which, I must say, will make the story more complex and stronger emotionally. 

My goal is to complete these revisions in the coming week so I can get back to drafting Honeywell #5 as of June first.