Yesterday
morning, I walked outside to change up the soaker hoses in the gardens, and
discovered something was falling from the sky. It was rain – lovely, much
needed rain, a good soaking rain that lasted until lunchtime. If our rain gauge
is correct, we received more than an inch.
I
listened to the sound of the water traveling the downspout outside my home
office window. I was working on the edits for the manuscript to A Light Shining, the sequel to Dancing
Priest. I had set it aside for a time, before trying to work through the
changes suggested by both the editor and a serious reader. I’m going
through the changes now, making steady progress.
Most
of the edits are relatively easy – small technical things, like using book
style versus the Associated Press style I have written with for more than 40
years; and a few corrections to align what’s in the book with various current
practices and situations. The technical edits are things like the use of commas
in a series, how to write numbers, and the use of em-dashes instead of hyphens.
These are relatively minor things, but you have to go through them page by
page. Tedium is an integral part of the writing process.
Some
criticism and issues are not minor. To explain what these in are in great
detail would give the story away, but I can say they focus on five of the six
sections. Some sections are felt to drag and get bogged down in too much
detail; others are questioned as to whether they’re needed to not.
With
Dancing Priest, I removed some
material almost wholesale, before anyone saw the finished manuscript (except
for my wife). A section involving the father of Sarah and David Hughes was
removed, as was an extended wedding scene. In fact, the original manuscript
ended with a wedding; the published book ends with an engagement. The wedding,
by the way, is not in the sequel; A Light
Shining begins after the wedding.
Part
of what I’m wrestling with is that the serious criticisms from the editor and
the reader were not the same. In fact, in some cases, they contradicted each
other. One liked Part 1; one didn’t. One liked Part 2, and one didn’t. Both
liked Part 3 but suggested extensive changes. They did agree on ending the book
at a point different from the current manuscript.
As
the King of Siam told Anna, is a puzzlement. Except a solution is forming in the
back of my mind, where I’m letting it sit for now, a solution involving a new
character.
So
the plan is: get through the technical edits and corrections; set where the
manuscript is at that point; determine how much rewriting is needed; and
consider this new character. What will remain is the larger, overarching story.
A Light Shining is less of a romance
that Dancing Priest, and it covers
only about a year. But it is the year that everything changes for Michael and
Sarah, and their story becomes a much larger story.
In
the meantime, I listen to the rain, hear the water falling through the downspout,
and am thankful for this much needed change.
Photograph: Rain by Jiri Hodan via Public
Domain Pictures. Used with permission.
10 comments:
You have trained well. Your perseverance is encouraging.
I think you'll know, intuitively, when the book is ready to be let go and sent out into the world. I'm glad you're sticking with it to make it the best it can be.
The creative process is such a conundrum. Is there a perfect but virtual product waiting "out there" to be realised...
The question carries such heady Christian resonance.
For my own art, I don't think I'll ever manage to get beyond em-hyphens and en-hyphens!
Sounds like you're making progress, Glynn. Do follow your instincts when it comes to changes in the book.
Blessings!
nothing like a good rain to clear the air...
Looking forward to A Light Shining Glynn. As for the rain, how about sending some our way!
For me, the rain forces me inside to do necessary work.
the conflicting suggestions I imagine are the hardest to deal with.
Such is the nature of things. Some hate it. Some love it.
there is nothing lovelier than the sound of the rain...even here in Seattle. May it continue to inspire you as you edit!
It is so interesting to read about the writing process Glynn. Praying that the new thought will result in just the right changes. I can't wait to read this book.
good luck -- writing is fun, re-writing less,and excising, lifting, and removal painful
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