The Heart of The Narrative

It’s been a busy time working on my new online workshop videos. I’m also working on some free advice videos about the elements of narrative for my YouTube channel, which means that I’ve not made any tangible progress with actually writing my novels.

I had a Eureka moment about my completed novel, The Bookfinder, and how I can link it to the sequel, The Scrutiny of Thaddeus Grymm, with effective foreshadowing. I then began to see possibilities for a third novel to complete what could be an exciting trilogy about The Bookfinder’s world. I’ve also been researching the Enlightenment, Georgian life and Pompeii for Thaddeus Grymm, which is one of my favourite aspects of writing (more on that in another post.)

On one level, it’s all good progress as a writer, but on the other, I know that I’ve been putting off the moment when I must begin the final edit of The Bookfinder and reduce the word count by about a third…

After 18 months of working on the manuscript, I came so close to it being out in the world for readers to enjoy, except for one crucial aspect - it’s too long for a first novel!

I’ve had some amazing feedback, especially from beta readers - one of whom doesn’t read fiction and found that they ‘couldn’t put it down’ when they sneaked a peak at their partner’s copy.

I’ve also had some great feedback from a couple of literary agents:

I love the premise and the world you've created.

Your writer voice was compelling and accessible, and we admired your ability to paint a scene and a setting.

I found the writing well-paced and the characters original, well-depicted and easy to empathise with.

I loved the opening chapters and can’t wait to read more.

So, there’s a lot to be positive about as I finally prepare to settle in and make the edits that are needed.

Editing can be a brutal process, especially when you know deep in your heart that cherished paragraphs and ideas must be taken out. It can be a wrench to see them go, but essential to make a story propulsive and engaging. Nothing is ever really lost, just hidden away in the original edit, which I always keep in case I need to put something back in, however much it’s modified when re-introduced.

With nearly 160,000 words to play with, I need to ensure there’s a clear path that pulls readers through the story, and the only way to do that is to focus on the heart of the narrative, while eliminating anything that doesn’t support it.

No amount of advice and guidance can get around one key aspect of a writer’s life – you have to read more than you write, especially your own work. A huge part of editing is reading what you’ve already written, sometimes over and over and over again, especially when a sentence or even a word doesn’t feel right or doesn’t flow; or is too ambiguous, clumsy or repetitive.

This is where working with a screen can lead to a lot of time wasted just staring at the same sentence or scrolling back and forth to gain objectivity.

I’ve found that my first step for an effective edit is to re-read the whole manuscript as a double-spaced printout to experience the story as a reader would. It also makes it easier to add notes/ideas/potential changes with a brightly coloured pen so they’re clear, while keeping what’s already there for comparison.

I then like to read my story aloud chapter by chapter and record it at the same time. Reading aloud is fantastic for realising when something needs to be changed or cut out. The ear can sometimes be more attuned than the eye to what needs to be edited, especially if you’ve been deep in the story with all the re-reading. As a third step, listening to the recording helps re-reinforce any changes, as well as highlight new parts that need editing.

With my trusted method for editing, my printout before me and coloured pens to hand, I’m ready to set aside the doubts and anxieties (we all have them, especially about our own work) and dive back into the world of The Bookfinder. Here goes…