Writer's Update: #amwriting

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Okay, not writing as in generating new text, but editing and rewriting, which any writer knows is the real work of writing. Yes, work on the first of the new Seffi Wardwell series has resumed, and I'm diving into what was wrong with my main character and how I can fix that. The woman in my head had definitely not come out on the page, and I had to dive into some hard places to ask myself why not. The answers were complicated, but I think in large part boiled down to me not being ready (when I first drafted it) to deal with some aspects of her backstory. 

I think I can handle Seffi's story now, but I have also realized that a lot of it doesn't need to enter into the book at all. Figuring out just what the reader needs to know will be part of my task.

I'm also working on moving the narration more into deep POV, something I've been learning about and think would improve the narrative voice.

If you are interested in getting a sneak preview--i.e., being a beta reader (possibly with a little more heavy lifting as I work out the problems)--please let me know! I hope to have a new draft ready in about a month.

In addition to the novel, I'm trying to keep putting the short stories out there. Mostly I've been reworking stories that either have had one outing without success or that I never quite finished and sent out.

Finally, I have just two sessions left in the class I'm teaching (today and next week), and am very grateful for the chance to spend an hour a week talking about writing! I'll be a while digesting everything I've learned.


Bonus photo that didn't make it into last Friday's post:



©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2023
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