I’m heading into a 24 day novel revision. That equates to 5 chapters every six days. That equates to one day for layout for the week and 1 chapter a day in addition to the 4 layout days. This means no days off, which is new, because I am becoming accustomed to taking Saturday’s off. I suppose I could entirely eliminate that planning and review day and still have my Saturday cheat day. What really matters is that I am deep into a revision, which is a fairly new process for me. I tend to put out drafts that aren’t heavily revised post writing. It’s always been a bit of a bad look on my part, so this new way is the cool way. Moreover, I feel very strongly that I can improve this novel immensely by simply sitting down and thinking through the mistakes I’ve made throughout and fixing them until this is not only a coherent story, but one that fields a great deal of emotional understanding that the reader will be able to connect with.
This story did not initially come from the heart. I was telling an adventure tale that hit all the notes of high and raucous adventure but failed in its basic responsibility to tell a story that mattered. The core of it is there, and now it is my responsibility to crack that core open and spill feelings into it.
Storytelling can be very reflective. I am in a place emotionally where I feel I have a lot to work with when it comes to understanding the dynamics of family and of partnerships. This story should be a reflection of that, and of loss, and it also should have quite a bit more mystery than it presently is working with. So, that is the next big step. I need to get all three into the manuscript and I need to help the reader get to know how these characters are feeling.