Hello friends!
Vacation is over, and I’m back to writing. Way back in June, I’d resolved to take a break from working on Kita’s story, and that worked for a bit. However, I’ve taken on a new critique partner and the only thing in good enough condition to send her way is, of course, Scion of Victory. Rather than send her the exact draft I’ve already gotten feedback on from my writing buddy, I decided to do a quick revision of the beginning…again.
Beginnings are tough. You want to pull your reader in and adequately set up your world, too. You want people to get a clear picture of your world (especially in SFF writing) but also not info-dump and bore them. For Scion’s beginning, I’ve tried at least half a dozen different starts. Each time, I’ve thought I’m on the right track, only for my critique partners or beta readers to come back and say it’s not working yet. So I’ve returned to the drawing board again and again. I want Scion to be in the best shape possible, so I’m willing to do the work, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t get damn annoying after a while. Hence the break back in June.
But now, I’m hoping with a few more tweaks this will be the beginning that sticks. I’ve incorporated targeted feedback from my incomparable writing buddy, who’s read this whole manuscript like three times and understands what I need to get across, and my local writing group, who have valuable knowledge on what engages a reader. Now, having a reader with fresh eyes will let me know if I’m really getting there with this beginning. I cannot express how much I hope I don’t have to come up with an entirely new beginning again.
Revising is important, as are the first impressions we get from a book’s beginning. But I am super over rewriting this beginning.
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What I wrote this week: Scion of Victory, beginning 4.2; “Alice Underground.”
What I read this week: Malice by Heather Walter; Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis.
Belinda McCauley 