Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I Conquered the Beast

(And when I say beast, I mean my wickedly long but beautiful baby--my first novel.)

I've spent the last two-and-a-half month's, several hours each day, cutting and polishing The Rowaness of Shalott.

Have you ever stared at a computer screen for so long that your eyes start crossing? I have and, let me tell you, it's a little bit freaky!

What I learned from this mega revision:

  • I may have thought my beginning was brilliant, but I didn't really understand how well it worked (and that it needed lots of fixing) until I wrote the end of my novel.
  • I may have thought my ending was brilliant, but I didn't really understand how well it worked (and that it needed lots of fixing) until I finished this long revision.
  • The best way I learned what was and wasn't working in my book was to read it. (Duh, I know, but I'm talking about reading--and not editing--it in as little sittings as possible. For me, that was four days.)
  • MCs get sassier with more attention. Villains become more sympathetic.
  • It is possible to love two fictional men at the same time (okay, I already knew this).
  • My characters can still surprise me (yes, Arthur, I'm talking about you).
  • I still believe in and love this story--more so than ever!

Some stats about my drafting and revision process so far:

  • Started writing the first version (contemporary, two POVs, set in Alaska, no Arthurian stuff) in December of 2009
  • Bagged the earlier version and started writing the Arthurian version in the summer of 2010
  • Finished my first draft in November of 2011 (two-thirds of it were written in Oct. and Nov.)
  • Finished this mega revision YESTERDAY (April 24, 2012)!
  • Original word count: 141,320 (not to mention 4,000 words I cut before drafting the last two-thirds)
  • Revised word count: 98,972
  • I cut 42,348 words! (almost as long as a NaNo novel)
  • Original page count: 490
  • Revised page count: 362
  • I cut 128 pages! (That might not seem like a lot, but it SO is.)

Anyway you do the math, I feel awesome! And I've totally owned my writing process, which is overwriting to draft, and then cutting to revise (though, I did have to rewrite sections of the beginning and end).

I know there will still be revisions to come with new beta readers, and hopefully one day an agent and editor, but for now I will breathe a big fat sigh of relief because I did one of the hardest things by hacking this book to below 100k.

10 comments:

  1. Seriously proud of you. This blows my mind. I'm so glad you're still in love with it!!! Also, Katie, you really need to take off word verification--it's obnoxious and probably makes less people comment :)

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    1. Yes, ma'am. Word verification is off. Thanks for all your support with my revision, Taryn!

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  2. That is so amazing. Honestly, this deserves a huge celebration. Hooray!

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  3. Thrilled for you! Woot! Woot!

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  4. So proud of you! Let's go eat some Thai food to celebrate. :)

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  5. Well done! I remember when I sat down to do my first major edit, and I went through a lot of the same things. Especially with cutting down words - I think I cut around 40,000, if not more! - and it was great fun. But, it was a LOT of work. I wish you luck with Rowaness in the future!

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    1. I'm glad to see someone else is an overwriter like me! (I'm the only one in my crit group.)

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  6. Yay! I can't wait to read the cleaner, quicker version. Also, I want you to write book 2, so I can lust a little more after Arthur. I've decided it's his turn.

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    1. Cleaner, quicker version. Lusting after Arthur. It's his turn.

      I think Emily needs to get her head out of the gutter. :)

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  7. I'm so proud of you, Katie! And I cannot wait to read the book, seriously! SQUEE!!!!

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