So today I hit 90,000 words, and passed it by another half a K. That’s about when it really clicked that I’m not going to be able to finish the re-write by the 5th of July.
- Instead of 2500 a day, I’ve been lucky to do 1500.
- I’ve got two visits this week for work, one interstate, and reports to write, and it’s getting busier.
- Instead of writing a few short scenes and three chapters of five thousand words each, I’ve added a number of scenes I didn’t count on, complicated a few more, and written a single new chapter that’s over ten thousand words and still going…
So okay. It’s not going to happen.
New Plan Time!
- August 31 – rewrite complete
- September 30 – Coloured filter run-throughs (more on this below)
- B.B. (Before Baby) – Final edit and Publish
So that gives me another month and three quarters to tap out the rewrite. It also squeezes the editing time down massively.
If it’s possible, great. It’ll still give me enough time for my coloured lenses edits. I really want to go over the novel just looking for one group of things at a time. Here they are, in the order that I’m going to do them:
- PLOT – sweeping (i.e. series) metaplot, missing socks (mystery), opening & closing promises, constant conflict, open questions, hooks…
- THEME – in this case characters of the Chinese Zodiac, and Pirates. I’ll look for suitably animal traits, as well as rums and yarrs
- SETTING – 200 years in the past, & 200 in the future, so olde’ colonial with Sci-Fi tech. 1850’s history references. Lonely Planet books (in this case for Hong Kong)
- RULE OF COOL – fast paced, no dull moments, ramping tension, zippy dialogue, fun & humour, ticking clocks…
- CHARACTERISATION – read the whole thing looking at each character’s part on its own, asking – what do they want?
- PROSE – show, don’t tell. Better metaphors & similes. Read aloud and de-clunk the grammar.
So that’s the plan. Sounds easy, right? Right? …
Best regards,
D.R.Sylvester
D.R.SYLVESTER FICTION 