Encouragement

I had a positive tutorial earlier this week. I submitted the first draft of chapters nineteen to thirty but also the first proper edit of chapters two and three. Good news re the latter – there were less comments in the margins and more ticks. The only issue is that in making my protagonist's desire clearer, she now comes across as rather selfish. Although we see her change dramatically by the end of the novel, few readers are going to find that out if they decide by chapter two that they don’t like her and put the book down. Fortunately, it’s a problem that can be easily fixed.

I started editing chapter six today. After the first read through I was appalled at how bad it is but thankfully I know why and what I need to do to fix it.

I hope to have a decent second draft of the novel by Christmas. After that, I’ll submit it to my tutor and prepare for the inevitable draft three. Yes, I know there will be a draft four, five, six... Writing a novel is not a quick, easy process. It is hard work, challenging and lonely but rewarding when those ticks appear in the margin.

Editing

I didn’t realise how long it’s been since I last posted; I’ve been lost in the world of editing. It’s a fascinating process and I’m learning a great deal. I’m taking a chapter at a time and reviewing structure, setting, character and style. It’s difficult not to address all these elements at once so I’m very strict with myself and take each in turn. Setting is turning out to be interesting – I did include it in the first draft but am now looking at it much more closely from my protagonists’ point of view. My favourite stage is the review of style. Knowing that I’m content (at the moment) with all the other elements I can focus on the sentence structure, vocabulary etc. It’s as if I am seeing the manuscript through a magnifying glass and all manner of mistakes appear. Editing is a very time consuming process and requires a structured approach, as well as patience. It’s worth it. Only twenty eight chapters to go.