It’s a gorgeous fall day, and I spent the morning weeding the garden. Trevor went to get coffee from our favorite coffee shop, and now I’m listening to the new Staind album thanks to a very excited text from my mom. Yes, my mom is listens to Staind.
What I’m getting at is, it’s an absolutely lovely day so far. So let’s talk about goals!
Last Week
- Start revisions
- Update website
- Send newsletter
- Edit and schedule podcast
How'd I Do?
- Start revisions
- Yep! I’ve re-written the entire intro, reorganized some scenes. Nothing too major yet, but I’m just revving up. Things should get grittier in the weeks to come.
- Update website
- Yep 🙂
- Send newsletter
- It’s in your inbox if you haven’t read it yet.
- Edit and schedule podcast
- Yes! Have you listened to the September episode yet?
Weekly Word Count: 1,560
For revision, that’s a stellar word count. Those are new, original words (as I mentioned, I completely rewrote the opening chapter), and I’ve still managed to cut almost a thousand words! Of course, I have two more scenes to write from scratch, so I’m sure I’ll make up the difference.
I’m keeping up with the website and even have an idea for another blog post. I’d like to post it latter this week, but I’m pretty busy so we’ll see if it happens.
Really, the blog is about to get boring y’all. Revision is a LOT of Lather, Rinse, Repeat. I’m not going to have much exciting to share while I’m elbow-deep in this manuscript’s guts. I’ll try to pad it with some more topical posts, but don’t be surprised if things get repetitive here.
You’ve been warned.
What's Next?
- Finish scene rewrites
- Start scene splices
… that’s it. Also, I recognize that those two bullet points probably don’t make sense without some context. By “rewrites” I mean the two chapters I need to completely rewrite from scratch. “Splices” means getting into the tougher, meatier part of revision, cutting what doesn’t work and threading in the new stuff that will make the book stronger. Honestly, rewriting might be easier!
I’m getting into the gore this week, and it’s a bit of a test. The rewrites are quick. I have a strong vision and I’m a fast drafter, so they sorta just fall into place in a single session. But the act of grafting the old and the new? I have no idea how long that will take. So, this week I’ll finally get a sense of how MUCH I need to do. How much time I’ll have to spend.
I suspect my revision timeline is, uh, a little tight. BUT! If I can do a really solid, in depth first round of revision – that takes the whole month, maybe – then the November revisions will go that much faster. At least, this is the story I’m telling myself. And I’m sticking to it!
And that’s the show, y’all. I’m hopeful I’ll be back later in the week to talk about my experience researching for a novel. Until then, Blogland!
BZ
