That list of 20 things tip I mentioned yesterday? Life. Changing. Seriously. I had a new scene I knew I needed to incorporate into my rewrites, but I wasn't entirely sure what would happen, only how it fit into the plot and that I wanted it to be really funny. So, I sat down with a notebook and started listing things that could happen in the scene. By the time I got to five, I thought I had the scene pretty well figured out, but I knew I needed to get to twenty, so I kept coming up with random things to write down. Some of them were silly, but it was items 19 and 20 on the list that really made the scene come to life for me and that I think will provide the climax and punchline of the scene. If I'd just brainstormed in the usual way or just sat down to write it, I never would have come up with the ideas that should make the scene something special.
Wow, this is so exciting. I may have to go back and try this with all the other big scenes. I can't wait to do this while brainstorming an entire book.
The down side is that I don't know for sure yet what I'll need to cut in order to fit this big new scene in. The book is still loooooong, and I'm not sure I'm quite ready to hit JK Rowling lengths yet. This may be where I have to decide (or let the publisher decide) if they're going to keep me in chick lit or let me be fantasy. In fantasy you can more easily get away with epic tomes. I don't know if I've yet seen a 125,000-word chick lit novel.
Weird thing is, in some cases I may have already cut too much, even from the draft I sent to my agent. I'd had a scene that I ended up cutting. It gave a recurring character more of a role, but the information in the scene was repeated elsewhere, so I cut it. But I accidentally left in a later reference to that scene. At that reference, my agent noted that it would have been nice to actually see that scene. Oops. I did write it, but I'm not sure how I'd go about fitting it in again. See above about the epic tome. In my revisions so far, I've managed to kill all of a thousand words, maybe, and the parts where I really need to add stuff come later on.
In the meantime, I need to be doing some rewrites on my Judy Blume essay, and then, get this, they're going to send these essays to Judy Blume to read. EEEEEEPP! Judy Blume will be reading something I wrote. Judy Blume will then know that I exist. Pardon me while I have a panic attack over here in the corner.
Finally, I've fallen behind on the Out of the Blogosphere entries. No interview this time, as the guest author wasn't able to get to my questions (besides, it turns out I'm the only one in the group doing interviews like that, and I hate to make the others look bad -- or, to be honest, do additional work). This voyage's book is Crimson Rogue by Liz Maverick.
About the Book:
Crimson Rogue is the latest in the Crimson City series of books started by Liz. From the four strata of Crimson City come rogues: vampire, werewolf, human, demon. These rebels, rakes and unsung heroes have turned their backs on the extravagant vampire skyway, the gritty werewolf underground, the iron-fisted human stronghold and the fiery power of the demon underworld. Walking a thin line between heaven and hell, they make their own rules and follow their own destinies. Ironically, they will be the ones to determine if the City flourishes or fails.
In this book, Cydney Brighton has escaped hell to discover that the City is not what it once was—and neither is she. Only one man understands her, understands what it means to be someone or something beyond control. He’s ready to come out of the darkness; and part-man, part-machine, he’s willing to sacrifice almost anything to make himself whole.
For more info on the series, visit http://www.crimsoncity.com. For more info on Liz and her books, visit http://www.lizmaverick.com.
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