So, here’s what I’ve been up to this past week.
1. Rereading the whole story and marking it up.
I have spelling and grammar to fix, and (more important), small and large chunks of the story to tighten or mix up or rework in other ways. And I’ve made notes about characters, and themes and symbols — patterns that thread their way through the story. And notes about the magic. I want the magic to make sense, as far as the context of the story goes!
The fun part is that in rereading the story I’ve discovered a few things that I (in a good way) hadn’t even known were there. So I’ve made notes about how those hidden things may be strengthened.
So, I have a bit of work ahead of me, but I don’t think it has to take very long. I’ll just go down my list, answering my questions, and tweaking this and that. I’m curious to experience the result when I’m done.
2) I’m also starting to work with a template — choosing a particular size for the book and preparing to plunge into all the 6″x9″ inch books I ca, so I can see what type styles and formatting I really like. I’ve mocked up a cover, but haven’t started the actual artwork that will be the cover.
Really Fun!
In rereading the book I realize who Lily and Amber (the sisters in charge of the chicken shop) are. All of the sudden, they have a far more important role in the story than I originally realized! Because of who they are, a whole bunch of other stuff is going to be tweaked, just a little. The book as a whole probably won’t change significantly, but it ought to feel more “in tune”.
This tweaking really feels like when I tune my harp. When I start bringing the strings in tune, the harp as a whole leaps into more resonance. Here in the book, by figuring out who Lily and Amber are (and their family), the two chapters with which I’d been most discontent (Magic of Mouse and Island At The To Of The World) suddenly make sense. I’m finding (to my surprise) that I don’t have to change is much as I’d thought I might.
There are changes though. Through the unexpected magic of revision, I’m discovering that what seemed dangerously random to me before actually … is fine.
This is a very, very fun process!