May 25, 2009
I did not get very far on Between the Stars except in concept and a few ideas. I think that book needs to simmer a bit more before I can really start writing it. Meanwhile, I have begun the (hopefully) final revision process on Looming Thunderheads. With Angie last year I created what I’ve called a “three-color-pass” version of editing/revising where I go through the manuscript three times, each time with a new color pen. The first pass is in green, and I pretty much just read the book front to back and correct typos and uneven grammar or unclear prose. I also take notes as I go through the green pass for things that I need to work on for the next pass. The next go-through, with a blue pen, is the really intensive revision, where I make broader changes, rewrite scenes or passages, add and delete, tweak character responses and scene descriptions, make sure time and place are consistent, etc. The Blue pass is the most time consuming and difficult. Although, since I have already revised Looming Thunderheads so many times, I do not expect any major overhauls. It will need a few clarifications and I still have to work on Dindriad’s arc a bit more. The final pass is in red, and that mimics the green pass in checking for readability and grammar, except that I am reading my hand-written edits and cleaning those up as well. After that, I go back to the electronic manuscript and type in all the corrections. At the last I will do an on-screen reading, this is merely to check for typos and glaring errors. That is the most difficult, because I do not like to read on the computer screen for an extended time. (Maybe a good reason to get a Kindle.) I hope to be done with these edits by August and the move to Alabama, so that as soon as we’re settled in to our new house I can start sending out queries for Looming Thunderheads and hopefully find an agent. After that, I will either begin on Baleful Deluge/Baleful Downpour or try again at Between the Stars.
Meanwhile, I am writing an essay called ‘On Fiction,’ which I hope to complete and put up on the web site in June. So far it is 5,000 words, and I expect it to be at the very least twice that. It’s a nice diversion and a good way to focus my thoughts as I work on revision.
Filed under The Redemption Saga.
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