Monday, April 27, 2009

Turning Point

I edited my manuscript nearly all day Sunday. It was the perfect day to write. Pretty much all afternoon, the skies were dark with thunderclouds and it rained off and on. A few times, the thunder rumbled so loud, it made my cat and I jump. I took a few breaks to watch an episode of Band of Brothers and also to read a bit of my James Bond novel. Other than that, I tapped away. And finally, I reached the turning point.

The middle of the novel is always the hardest for me. The character development, plot points, and conflict have to be fine-tuned in this area, otherwise, the reader (and even the writer!) will lose interest and toss the book aside. I knew I needed to really concentrate on the middle in the editing process and let me tell you, it was a rather painful journey.

But yesterday, I consciously felt a shift in my mind after I finished a particular chapter. At that point, I realized the hardest part was done. My mood suddenly lifted and the excitement I felt over the novel reemerged. The last part of the novel is fairly strong and won't require as much editing. But I think I can say the same for the middle now. And that is a wondrous thing!

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a great day!! It's wonderful to reach that point in our editing when we feel like we're making great progress!

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  2. Yay! I love when you can devote a large chunk of time in one day to editing.

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  3. Congrats! I was storyboarding my WIP today and marking out the turning points. It turned out better than I expected and I made a few revelations so I was pleased.

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  4. Ooo, major progress, MM!!

    It's all downhill from here, baybee. :)

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  5. As Angie says, it's all downhill from here.

    Congratulations!

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  6. Oh to get that great feeling back again! You are on a roll!

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  7. How inspiring! Congrats and good luck!

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  8. The turning point, whoo-hoo! For me that's the point where the novel starts gaining momentum and it's a gallop to the end. Sweet!

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  9. That's great! I struggle with the middle too. Hooray for the hard part being finished!

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