Fleshing Out the Story

From First Draft to Publication

Let me tell you, finding the motivation to revisit my novel and add in new scenes is tough. I know my book needs it, and I want it to be the absolute best it can be, but the whole process is so bleurgh (that’s the best word to describe it). Anyway, it’s my day off today and I decided to get my arse in gear. At first, I procrastinated by cleaning the whole house, and then I sat down and got to writing.

My story is told in two different time periods by two characters.

I decided the best approach would be to separate each character’s story into different documents. That should allow me to focus on making changes to one story at a time, and really get back into it. This approach has certainly worked, so far, and it has been far easier to see the story and character progression this way. I’m making the changes in a different colour so that I can go back and proofread these sections separately, saving a little time.

As I’m fleshing out the story, I can see it all coming together.

It’s exciting to see how connections are made between one storyline and another. I’m finding little plot loops here and there that I think bring everything together nicely. It’s difficult to be objective about your own work, and so I’m trying to be as systematic with the changes as I possibly can. This has never been an issue when ghostwriting because I’m able to separate myself from the project.

I’m going to spend a little time each day working through the document and adding scenes.

This is my plan from now on. No exceptions. An hour each day, hopefully. It will all add up. And then it will be back to my long-suffering beta readers to see if they approve of the changes.

There’s still a long way to go, but we’re getting there.