Last week I told you about the edits I had to do for Kill For Me, the fifth book in the DI Hannah Robbins series which will be on sale on 14th February and is currently on pre-order.
Well, this week I did the copy-edits and have sent the book off for a proofread, the final stage in the editing life of the book. I should get the manuscript back at the end of this week.
Luckily my other project was returned so I could immediately jump on to that. This project is a half-written standalone. It’s not a police procedural, it’s a complete break from what I usually write and I hope readers will like it. Because it had been a while since I worked on it (back in November while I was doing NaNoWriMo if you remember – I was working on both projects at once) I have read through what I have written so far and am now tidying those words up before I continue with the rest of the book.
It’s a funny one, I have a full synopsis written out for the book so writing the final half should be a walk in the park, but I have this strange feeling that I should maybe wander off the path I have set myself and write it a little differently. Reading it through didn’t make this any clearer for me though so I’m hoping that once I’ve finished tidying up the text and come to start writing again, all will become clear.
On paper (the synopsis) the book sounds good but I’m worried there isn’t enough tension. There is only one point of view and I’ve never written a book with only one point of view before. I think it is this that is giving me pause for thought. I have managed to write 44,000 words of it from only one viewpoint so surely I must be able to write that amount again? I think the decision will be that I will try to follow the plan, with only the one point of view, see how it reads and if it’s not right, then that’s what an edit is for, I can tear it apart and write it differently. Maybe more viewpoints. This will be the first book I have written this way, knowing it is only a test and that I might well pull it down and re-write it again differently. I definitely won’t scrap the book as a whole, I like the idea, the general book works, like I said, on paper it’s a good idea. It’s making it work for a whole book and not just a couple of pages of planning that is the test.
I hope to know by the end of the month what the first draft looks like.
Have you written something knowing it’s only a test of its worth? Do let me know how it worked out. Also let me know how your week has been.
Margot Kinberg says
I think most writers go through that feeling, Rebecca, of not being sure they’re on the right path with a novel’s plot. We’re great ones for second-guessing ourselves, in my opinion. I’m very happy about your upcoming release – much success!!
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks, Margot. We really are very good at second-guessing ourselves aren’t we? I think it kind of comes with the job description!
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