Monday, October 3, 2011

Today is the day....

My NaBlo posts are in the form of letters to my journal about my revision process. Along the way, I'll include Home-Made Revision Workshop posts, and my Friday Challenges...


Dear Journal,
Today is the day that I begin the process I wrote about yesterday. Yesterday I finished putting in the last of edits from Carolyn. Today I will change two chapters (of 25) from 1st to 3rd person. A few people have mentioned that this seems like a huge deal. It isn't. It isn't really a point of view change, except in the most technical sense. The book will still be in the voice of Libby- nothing in it that she doesn't experience or remember. The reason that I'm doing this switch is that it suddenly occurred to me, after I had finished the first draft, that 3rd person, in this case, was more intimate. I cannot explain to you why this is but perhaps some of you have experienced a similar happening. It also allows me more perspective.The readers can watch what Libby does, from a cool reserve, and then move to Libby's interior thoughts. It is a great way to build tension.
The other task I have for today is to see where I have not rounded out - on the page - Libby's character. I have it full blown in my mind and I need to find those places that leave the reader guessing in a not good way!
I'm excited to get onto this part of the revision process. As usual, I will be moving back and forth between the floor and the balcony as I work. And I will be cutting, cutting, cutting. I'm getting deliciously ruthless in my paring down process. Next, I'll move up to my clothes-closet and start in there!
Hope everyone is enjoying NaBloWriMo. I am. If you want to find out who else is involved - click on the lovely pumpkin to your left and you'll find us all in the side-bar!

10 comments:

Cruella Collett said...

I agree with you - sometimes 3rd person IS more intimate. I guess it might be because protagonists have a funny tendency to hide what they don't want the reader to know. An all-knowing 3rd person narrator takes no such concerns.

And yay for progress in revision. Erm. Not revision of progress, that is, but progress. In your revisions. Bah. English is tricksy sometimes!

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Good luck with your edits! This is my week to add word count to my first draft outline.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I'm a fan of 3rd person. And if you go really deep into the POV, then you still get that intimacy that first can provide. It just gives more options, I think. Good luck with your revisions!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Third person is all I know how to write!

Jan Morrison said...

Thanks everybody - got the two done for today with little difficulty and now I'm looking at my protagonist with a view to enriching her 'on page persona'!

Danette said...

Woohoo! Thanks for being number 200... I was thinking of offering a set of Key West to 200 but I hesitate because it means a great deal to me but I never know... If you interested you can email me!

And editing is tough but as so many authors point out, that is the real writing process! Sounds like your making good progress!!

M.J. Fifield said...

I'm also working on fleshing out one particular character. I keep getting mad at him about it even though I know it's not his fault and know that if I'd just done it right the first time, I wouldn't be where I am now.

Good luck with all your revisions!!

Anonymous said...

Jan - Such a great idea to keep a record of your revisions this way! It's a great daily discipline, and you can look back and see how far you've come. And it helps you break down the editing/revising task. I love it!

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