Meant to Be – 2nd draft
Following the new advice from Helping Writers Become Authors the completed R&R of Meant To Be is done and in 2nd draft. The word count came down but not as much as needed – from 116,000 to 93,000. My goal is to get closer to 80,000, so will try to keep cutting fluff on the next pass.
This 2nd draft was tough. Funny, I read the first version seven or eight times and even listened to an audio version. I cannot believe I missed an obvious error in the timeline. August and September both had sixty days! So if for no other reason, this revision was worth it.
But it’s not just the date flaw that was corrected, character flaws, speech patterns, and descriptions were revised. One character in the first version was scaled down to be a minor supporting role – he wasn’t needed to the extent he was included. The mystical hook was re-defined, giving it greater importance. One of the main characters became much angrier, but hopefully not too angry. When his conflict is revealed his anger vanishes and he becomes the new main character. And the conflicts between and among the three main characters were tweaked, to make the story more impelling.
I’m going to take a short break before the 3rd pass – let the story “marinate” for a week or two. I have a new toy, I bought a small program called Outlining Your Novel Workbook that I want to try. There have been two stories swirling around in my head for a few weeks that need to be written down. So, let’s give this new toy a spin.
I really like it when people get together and share ideas. Great blog, stick with it!