What a joker, eh?
This weekend I tipped over the two-thirds edited point in my novel. I also made the choice to have a new chapter. Previously, most of my chapters were fairly close to 5000 words long, but while working on an action section this weekend I decided to cut a whole chunk out and move it to a new chapter by itself. The section was a memory, jogged by something said during the action sequence, and it worked okay where it was, but it slowed the pace a little too much for my liking. The following chapter started with the protagonist waking up, so I’ve made a new, smaller chapter where the memories are told in a dream.
This change does mean that some of the context for the conversation during the action sequence is a little lost, but it really helps preserve the flow of the scene. It was quite a tough decision – it’s the first time I’ve messed with the running order! I spent three months planning the novel before I began writing, and the editing process as shown me that I’m happy the choices that I made, but this new mini-chapter helps move the plot along and works quite naturally in the overall scheme.
I’m beginning to suspect that I might go through and edit again after this time. I think I’m getting better at it, so I’d like to review what I’ve done and see if there are more improvements to be made. I’m becoming a bit nervous that I’m editing too much, and whether I’ll know when to stop, but I’ve got to keep going and hope that my instincts guide me to the right solutions for the story.
Anyway, that’s my exciting weekend… Okay, that’s far more interesting for me than you, but I was quite excited by it! ‘Hope you had fun too.
See you Friday!
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