I've been trying to get Book Three of Lost Xentu edited, without much progress, the past few months. So I set my mind to a finite amount of time: the nine days of Thanksgiving break. Of course, I feared I might not follow through. I can't always be trusted. But the first day of vacation, my lingering cold had cleared and my head felt more energetic than it had for two weeks. On that first day of the nine, I figured out that if I edited two chapters a day, I'd be able to finish, being already into Chapter 7.
How fun it is to discover that the chapters are good! The first seven had much more logistical untangling to do, forming the new story after finishing book two. I hoped that, after that, it would be a matter of smoothing out mostly fine sentences. And it has been!
It’s funny to realize that after completing seven books, I am still refining my process for this particular part of book-producing. For instance, for some books, I’ve depended on working with my writing group, then sent the whole thing to an editor. This time, I’m not just checking what the editor points out. Before I get it to her, I’m reading full chapters two, at a time, which, day after day, keeps it cohesive in my mind.
And it’s fun! This is the kind of book I would buy and read. I’m not bragging, just saying that it’s a relief. I happen to love this niche genre that I also love writing—adult fantasy—not romance, crime, thriller, historical fiction or mystery, the top sellers.
How fun it is to find that a task I’ve set for myself is also a most enjoyable activity for vacation, reading two chapters of a good novel each day. It’s been months since I penned (typed, actually) the story, so a lot feels new, or half-new.
Editing isn’t painful, to me. I hear it in my head. Maybe this is useful to readers! Maybe not. Let me know.
Follow Marie Judson on WordPress.com (function(d){var f = d.getElementsByTagName(‘SCRIPT’)[0], p = d.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);p.type = ‘text/javascript’;p.async = true;p.src = ‘//widgets.wp.com/platform.js’;f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));
Instagram pics:
Marie Judson 