But I am now thinking Dec 1st is probably not going to happen.
Yes, Thanksgiving got in the way a bit! I did get some work done, it’s important not to skid entirely to a halt with something like this because for me it’s too hard to get going again later. But I’m not going to entirely ignore Thanksgiving either, right? So it did slow down the revision.
But! I am revising chapter-by-chapter and I am up to Chapter 10, so progress! I kind of think I will make it right through Chapter 12 tonight. There are 18 chapters at the moment, but I think I am going to cut & combine chapters 10 and 11. Caitlin (my agent) thinks the pace drags through there and I’m sure she’s right.
It’s Caitlin who gives me specific chapter-by-chapter comments, which is VERY HELPFUL, though (I must confess) I don’t always take every single one of her suggestions. For example, I’m not cutting chapter the whole of chapter ten because I do think a particular line in that chapter is important to provide impact to later interactions between Oressa and Gajdosik. But, cutting the chapter down, that I can do, thus trying to ensure that the pacing keeps its . . . um . . . pace.
I’m using Caitlin’s comments as the backbone of the revision, then other, more general comments I’m sort of holding in my head and adjusting the ms. accordingly as I go. This means I’ll inevitably lose sight of some of the important world-building and character-building comments, so at the end, I’ll re-read the more general comments and make sure all of that has been addressed — nipping here, tucking there. Then the last step, if I can stand it, is going through the whole thing one more time right from the top and trying to ensure that it’s all completely consistent from front to back.
So! I’m pretty happy with how it’s going, and even happier that the end is sort of more or less nearly in sight.
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Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving. It would be interesting if books had extended versions like DVDs, you could have the deleted scenes in the back. You need to give yourself rewards when you meet small goals. Chocolate would be good.
Chocolate is always excellent! Ummm, chocolate.
Absolutely Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies!