The Great “The Wall of Night” #4 Revision – It’s Update Time
This was going to be a “Not An Update” post, i.e. me beavering away on a gnarly piece of revision so kicking for touch until I had something more substantive to report than “still revising, not done yet.”
So OK, I am still revising and it’s not done yet, but – or is that BUT(?!) – as of yesterday I have finished most of the revising and rejigging of what I suspect will prove the most challenging part of the manuscript.
Back in December I mentioned Revision Tasks #3 and #4 (of seven) and that I was just embarking on #4, which I considered the “largest and gnarliest” of the seven., and which (together with #3) “effectively comprise the first half of the book.”
On Monday, I also mentioned that today’s post might provide visibility on “what I refer to as the zig-zag.”
In short, the large and gnarly #4 is “the zig-zag”, which is my nickname for the early years of tacking to-and-fro across the vasty deeps of Storytelling in order to find the fair winds (as opposed to either tempests or doldrums) and following seas that would bring the craft of Story to its destined harbour.
Needless to say, we (that’s the story, the muses, and the poor benighted author) got there in the end – much in the same way that what was once a primordial creative morass is now what the world knows as Part IV, The Bride of Blood, in Daughter. 😀
So the latest revision target has been to bring a similar outcome out of the zigs and zags of the early manuscript. As above, I have now finished most of that work, although a small amount of the zigzag material remains to go into the next section of the book. (Which also has a nickname, but I’ll leave a veil over that for now. 😀 )
Once that’s done, three of the original seven revision tasks remain outstanding, so there’s still a way to go – but steadily and surely, it’s getting there. And while revision, like any other part of the writing process, has its ups and downs, one of the exciting parts is to see all the puzzle pieces, along with everything that was always meant to happen, fitting into place. And realizing that my plan, and the muses’ plan, really have been one and the same, all along.
In saying that, I know you’ve all had a very long wait already, which I don’t take lightly. But rest assured – I’m definitely working on it!
~*~
Also Happening:
On Monday, Rosie Wadman of Group Haarth reported in on the second stage of “The Wall Of Night” readalong, namely The Heir of Night, Part 2. 🙂 To read all about it, click here.
Glad to hear that progress is being made.
Very much looking forward to reading this.
Take care, stay safe and enjoy!
Thanks so much, Conrad, on all counts.)