I had a lot of fun writing Unseen Motives. Because I’m a bit of a panster, I allowed the story to take me along on the journey, and there were a few surprise twists and turns along the way. When I finally finished the first draft in April 2015, I set it aside to “cool down,” intending to come back in a month.
There was one problem (or so I told myself). In June of that year, my husband and I were planning a twelve-day road trip to Virginia, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. We traveled with relatives and I promised the hubs I would not take my laptop. I knew with all the touring and site seeing, I wouldn’t have time to even think about writing. He was right.
However, upon our return home, I had another problem. I dreaded doing the rewrites. So I put it off to finish a novella. Then I wrote a short story and then another short story. I confess that during the revision process, I had a love/hate relationship with the novel. Most of the time I loved it, but there were days when I wondered what in the world I was doing.
Author P. H. Solomon takes the lead at Story Empire today talking about book revisions. And I confess, I often felt like Frodo as he entered Moria in Fellowship of the Ring. Click the link below to read/view the post.
Source: A Video Ode to Book Revision | Story Empire
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6 Responses
The same happened to me with Dracula’s Mistress. I left it aside to finish other projects and when I had to revise it I did it reluctantly. It was as if it weren’t written by me. It felt cold and like a stranger you don’t want to know. In the end I did it. I’m sure it happens to many of us, Joan, so you’re not alone.
That sounds so familiar. Glad you stuck with it, however. Hopefully i won’t feel this was about the sequel.
Glad you stuck with it, though. I love Unseen Motives, and I can’t wait for the next book.
I was determined to stick it out. I think I dreaded it so much because the first draft was a messy conglomerate of words. I cut a lot, then added more, so it all worked out. Book two is coming along much better and I think it will require less editing.
I bet you find each book gets easier. (I haven’t, but I bet you do.)
I hope so. So far this one is much easier (and moving along faster.)