So I compiled the draft down to just the āColeā chapters with a handful of āCadenceā insert chapters to see what that would look like. Ouch. Cuts the word count in half, for an entirely unimpressive 50K, for one thing. Iām still undecided on whether ditching all the supporting perspectives and characters is a good strategy, or just a tactic to get a better handle on the rewrites - itās so intertwined that itās hard to work out how the story could make sense without everyone else, and as soon as you start adding people back in (Haynfyvā¦ Ghostā¦) the rest come tumbling after. So now Iām stuck again; do I send the trimmed-down and mostly-unedited version to my (maybe) editor, or the whole bloated and confusing beta-readersā edition, and with or without my updated early chapters? With or without the shuffled chapter order? Aargh. So Iām sitting, staring at a (mostly) blank Word document, and trying to figure out what to paste into it. Instead of, you know, actually writing anything. Again.
In other news, thereās a book festival in town this weekend (a write highland hoolie) and I started one of the featured authorās books yesterday: Lie of the Land by Michael F. Russell. Which drops you into a sort of dystopian futuristic setting where you have to figure everything out from context. Which is confusing, yes, but he seems to have gotten pretty good reviews, regardless. So some people seem to get away with subtlety and not over-explaining every little thing. Just not me, apparently.
OK, decision time. I think Iāll paste in my beta edition for my prospective editor, with a note about the updated first few chapters and possible change in direction, and then, time allowing, proceed to work on the draft as if I were ditching everything but Cadence & Coleās perspectives. Plan->Action->Go.
Thursday
Start time: 3:30 pm
Mallaig: The Lodge at the West Highland Hotel, bed
Drinking: Gin & Tonic