I rewrote chapter 1 of Dancing Demons. After the feedback I received, I needed to. There wasn't any way around it, and if you want your MS to succeed, you have to put it first. Do what it needs, even if it isn't what you originally wanted. Instead of Amberlyn having a flashback of the party (and only the first half of it at that), I actually wrote the party and hospital scene out and ended it with Ava's cryptic message over Kaleb. Hopefully that way I can set up Amberlyn's growing suspicion better. Now, I'm just waiting to see if the changes really did help, and go from there.
If they didn't, I'm going to have to do some serious brainstorming with the trusty CP's and find out what worked and what didn't. Even if it does work, I'll still have to play with the ending. It's too weak. As I wrote it, I knew it was a first draft so I didn't keep slaving away at it. I let it end, now I'm letting it sit for a bit, so hopefully when I do go back to it I have a better grasp and can write a kick-ass ending for it. So now I'm just waiting.
As I do, I'm going to keep writing as my outline dictates. There's been another murder and Amberlyn has to contend with Riggs one more time. Fun, fun! At least for me; not so much for Amberlyn =). Oh, the things we put our characters through (*insert evil laugh*). Heh.
Katie S. Pendergrass
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2 comments:
The more evil we are with our characters, the better. =)
I believe what you're writing about is the willingness to kill our darlings. *sigh* I won't deny it, I'm a total sell out. If an agent or editor told me my angle didn't work, I'd be seriously offended for about ten minutes, then sit down to brainstorm why and how to overcome it. Still, there is something to be said about holding to your original vision. If suggested revisions will alter your story to the point where it kills your theme or underlying intention, then obviously they're not the right move. If, however, they strengthen the action, well, it's a no-brainer, right?
BTW, I've tagged you in the "looking at you" writer's challenge. =) Cheers.
I agree. I'm totally into showing backstory instead of telling it (or using flashbacks). But I've been getting rejections saying I should start later in the story (which would necessitate telling the first two chapters of backstory and character development later). And I've been seeing A LOT of pubbed books that are laden with backstory and telling in the beginning. But they're selling. Go figure.
Nonetheless, I'm still for showing. :-)
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