Accursed Revising by the Numbers.
I just spent 3 hours on a 1200 word scene. It used to be 1100 words. I added 528 words.
When I went from D1 to D2, I lost 4k. I also added around 26k.
D2 to D3 I lost just over 5k. (And probably added about 5k of edits; this was a quick draft)
D3 to D4 was down about 11k. (I have no idea how many edits I added, but I completely rewrote at least 4 chapters.)
As of now, D5 is about 300 words lighter. I've lost count of how much I've rewritten, it's just that much.
And this is where I start panicking. Cause, OMG, it's still a bit too long for where I want it.
This is also where I have to take a step back and remind myself that my life is not dependent on word counts. Yes, it is a good indicator in a query of whether or not I know what I'm doing. That's why I'm worried-- cause while I'll never know exactly what I'm doing (what writer does?), I know the ins and outs so much better now.
But the writing? That's what really counts. And I don't want to sound braggy (cause honestly I moan more about what still sucks than cheering what's good) but it's good.
Yeah, it's long. Yeah, I'm having a mild panic attack every time I look at the word count. But the work itself is so much better: the characters are richer, the world-building is stronger, and damn it, I just plain like it more.
Are there still things to fix? In a word (or two), hell yes. I'm about to make a new Revision To-Do list, because most of the Big Issues are fixed; I think I have two more scenes I really want to dig into. And there are snippets that, now that I've explained them elsewhere, can go. There are a couple scenes I was questioning that will probably be cut. (I can always put them back later if I have to.) I need a new list to keep track of it all.
Writing and revising this book has taught me more in the last year than just about anything else. It's been as intense as my Hollins MFA summers (though, those were only 6 weeks at a time) and harder than anything else I've done (including rewriting an entire manuscript nearly from memory to change tense and structure).
And as much as I can't wait to get back to first-drafting and all my other characters, I'm really looking forward to the feedback on this one. Because this story is going to be the best I can make it come hell or high water.
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What's your final count at this point? Are you a lot over the norm for the genre?
I think I am back from real life if you need a final reader who will actually follow through with comments this time. I'm sorry I was a flake last time. By the time I had comments, you'd already started revising and I didn't think it was right to send them.
I really enjoyed the story and would love to see one of the final versions.
I'm around 107k. It's not super-above-norm, but it's higher than I'm comfortable with for querying purposes.
I'll let you know when I finish off this draft, I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the changes :)
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