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Editing the Novel . . . again
Jan. 18th, 2014 08:47 pmBLARGH.
So, when I put together the submission packet for the Strange Chemistry unagented submission period, I did a desultory review of The Novel and concluded it was still pretty tight, and I didn't need to edit it, and I could focus on the business-end stuff. Then I spent most of November and the beginning of December working on the query letter, and then some more in January, and now I think I finally have a decent letter.
The catch? In working on the query, I needed to check the MS for a few things (including one instance of "plot logic" someone on a query crit forum pointed out, which needed to be fixed in the MS before I could fix it in the query) and discovered that there's a whole bunch of fiddly little details that aren't quite there yet. Some of it's worldbuilding or plot stuff that I didn't notice was a hole till a critter pointed it out, and some of it is metatextual/philosophic issues that exist because I did the original worldbuilding and writing for this book SIX YEARS ago and have learned a lot since then.
So while I'm not making big changes, they are very exacting. I need to find exactly the right place to make the change, then exactly the right change to make in order not to disrupt the flow of the story that already existed, and I need to do this while not bogging the MS down info-dump style.
It's irritatingly fiddly and worse because I have no one to blame but myself. Myself of six years ago, but still myself.
EDIT, five hours later: ARGH. Race is complicated even/especially when you're making up all the rules in a fantasy kingdom! And so is class. And nationality. And all the research just makes it more complicated! And I decided that INTERSECTIONALITY IS IMPORTANT. Writing is hard, y'all. (I'm going to keep reminding myself that it's SUPPOSED to be hard, that means I'm thinking at least almost enough. It's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to be hard, if it's easy it's my white privilege, it's supposed to be hard, yes I'm going to screw up, it's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to be hard . . . )
EDIT II, three hours after the first: Writing a high fantasy while simultaneously, in the same text, engaging critically with the history of high fantasy is also REALLY HARD.
I'd forgotten why I needed to write a middle grade utopia after editing this book for six months. Now I remember.
(I should be asleeeeeeep.)
So, when I put together the submission packet for the Strange Chemistry unagented submission period, I did a desultory review of The Novel and concluded it was still pretty tight, and I didn't need to edit it, and I could focus on the business-end stuff. Then I spent most of November and the beginning of December working on the query letter, and then some more in January, and now I think I finally have a decent letter.
The catch? In working on the query, I needed to check the MS for a few things (including one instance of "plot logic" someone on a query crit forum pointed out, which needed to be fixed in the MS before I could fix it in the query) and discovered that there's a whole bunch of fiddly little details that aren't quite there yet. Some of it's worldbuilding or plot stuff that I didn't notice was a hole till a critter pointed it out, and some of it is metatextual/philosophic issues that exist because I did the original worldbuilding and writing for this book SIX YEARS ago and have learned a lot since then.
So while I'm not making big changes, they are very exacting. I need to find exactly the right place to make the change, then exactly the right change to make in order not to disrupt the flow of the story that already existed, and I need to do this while not bogging the MS down info-dump style.
It's irritatingly fiddly and worse because I have no one to blame but myself. Myself of six years ago, but still myself.
EDIT, five hours later: ARGH. Race is complicated even/especially when you're making up all the rules in a fantasy kingdom! And so is class. And nationality. And all the research just makes it more complicated! And I decided that INTERSECTIONALITY IS IMPORTANT. Writing is hard, y'all. (I'm going to keep reminding myself that it's SUPPOSED to be hard, that means I'm thinking at least almost enough. It's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to be hard, if it's easy it's my white privilege, it's supposed to be hard, yes I'm going to screw up, it's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to be hard . . . )
EDIT II, three hours after the first: Writing a high fantasy while simultaneously, in the same text, engaging critically with the history of high fantasy is also REALLY HARD.
I'd forgotten why I needed to write a middle grade utopia after editing this book for six months. Now I remember.
(I should be asleeeeeeep.)