Post-NaNoWriMo, things have become even more hectic. I realised that
the manuscript which had been smouldering for more than five years has
now become a growing monster. I had written quite a bit and kept trashing it
before NaNo, but it was only in November that I really sat down and
banged out the 50k. I finished 60k, actually.
And, yes, I did write my conclusion. But quite a bit was in bullet points. Expanding them has taken my novel to a rather respectable 80k, and I still find angles I'm developing. So the 90k I hoped for may just become reality.
The editing process is on! For starters, I've changed my prologue twice already. And, my first chapter has undergone a facelift so I now begin with the war. I am now weaving in the pre-war part somewhere between the first and the second chapters.
Meanwhile, my mom felt that certain parts, based on real-life incidents - even a murder - were too recognisable, especially to those around where I live, so they had to go. We argued and, yes, I did lose my temper, but I am working on those parts, too.
Everyday, there is much that changes. But it is so exciting, so challenging. I love editing more than I love writing. This takes me back to my good old Sub-Editing days at the desk of a national magazine, where I spent three years learning how a sentence, a word, even an alphabet, could always be made crisper.
For someone who managed to delete/burn/trash three novels and about six short stories, deleting Chief is always a temptation. That is where editing comes in. I keep telling myself I'll reword or change what I don't like, rather than cut off chunks. Long may it last!
I'll keep you posted on the Chief's journey.
And, yes, I did write my conclusion. But quite a bit was in bullet points. Expanding them has taken my novel to a rather respectable 80k, and I still find angles I'm developing. So the 90k I hoped for may just become reality.
The editing process is on! For starters, I've changed my prologue twice already. And, my first chapter has undergone a facelift so I now begin with the war. I am now weaving in the pre-war part somewhere between the first and the second chapters.
Meanwhile, my mom felt that certain parts, based on real-life incidents - even a murder - were too recognisable, especially to those around where I live, so they had to go. We argued and, yes, I did lose my temper, but I am working on those parts, too.
Everyday, there is much that changes. But it is so exciting, so challenging. I love editing more than I love writing. This takes me back to my good old Sub-Editing days at the desk of a national magazine, where I spent three years learning how a sentence, a word, even an alphabet, could always be made crisper.
For someone who managed to delete/burn/trash three novels and about six short stories, deleting Chief is always a temptation. That is where editing comes in. I keep telling myself I'll reword or change what I don't like, rather than cut off chunks. Long may it last!
I'll keep you posted on the Chief's journey.
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