MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO FIRST HALF OF NOVEL
Posted on July 28, 2015
Untimely Agent is growing. I thought I could keep it contained to 50,000 words, but that darn Keith Robinson insisted he read it so far and point out any possible flaws.
I know that sounds negative, but it really isn't. We've really developed thick skins with editing each other's work and offering feedback. I want to say we've helped each other with more than a dozen books at this point, so we're pretty comfortable with giving and taking criticism.
He pointed out precisely what was missing from the first half of the book and darn if he wasn't right.
He wanted the main character to be more realized, for the reader to know a little of his past. From that suggestion, a much larger plot point was born. I found an ingenious way to showcase some key memories from Angus's past. Playing with memories makes perfect sense in a time travel story.
I just got done inserting a chapter between the original chapter 9 and 10, and it really delivers some great character development and insight.
The plan is to add two more chapters in the next ten chapters that will delve into more memories and show Angus as a flawed person, that the life he left was anything but perfect. It gives him an even stronger reason to want to go back and make things right.
And to think I had none of that in the original draft.
Opening yourself up to criticism, allowing another into your world to see what works and what doesn't can be a difficult thing, but when you trust the instincts of your writing mate, it becomes a thing of infinite ease.
Thank you so much, Keith.
Of course, thanks to Keith, I now find myself with a novel that looks to be much longer.
Bring it on.