where the two halves of my brain argue with each other

not an unusual occurrence, but in this case, it's about whether or not to regret revising Eldala for re-release sometime in the near future. in case you wanted a peak inside my brain, here are the arguments.

Why I'm Sorry I'm Revising Eldala

do you know how many freaking writing mistakes i've made in it? no. don't answer that. i've seen them all. too much telling here, whole sections that could be deleted, too many dashes for emphasis, too much food, too many conversations over tea, and too many people "looking around" to set up a description. and the romance scenes, don't even get me started.

there's this huge part of me that wants to change all those things, but it would take away from the flavor of the writing, the story, etc. it's also good to leave things in place so i can see how i've improved, and frankly, no one's ever complained about them, except me, of course, but then they say a book is never finished; it's just abandoned.

on the flipside...

Why I'm Glad I'm Revising Eldala:

there were so many typos i'd missed on the last go-around that i was almost embarrassed to show it to anyone and i certainly wouldn't have been able to send it out to reviewers. now it's more polished formatting-wise, fewer typos, etc. and yes, surprise of all surprises, i'm finally getting up the courage to send it to reviewers. (any volunteers?)

i can see how my writing has improved over time. being part of a great blogger/writing community and having a fantastic crit partner have been a huge part of that. i've learned more than i could have imagined over the last five years since i published it.

going over it again has also shown me story things that i'd forgotten that will affect Blackheart. as each thing arises, i write it down to help me with the next draft.

And in Conclusion...

i'd say that the benefits of revising have outweighed the negatives. it's certainly been an enlightening journey. through it all, i've discovered that i still like my story. it's a good thing because i think i've had to read through it, either in part or in whole, about a gazillion times... ok, maybe only five? whatever. my head's too tired to argue with myself anymore.

And Before I Forget...

thank you to the people who've read through my revisions to make sure i didn't add more mistakes to the manuscript....
Lisa Yarde
Kristie Cook
Anne M.
and my fantastic CP, Kristal Shaff

wait...

i almost forgot my two oral readers.... Natural Reader's cheap demo voice, Microsoft Sam, whom my entire family has dubbed "The easiest way to make my story as boring as possible," and my daughter Anna who took over when Sam got to be too much for me to listen to. i love the way she's taken lines like, "What's that?!" and made them as sarcastic as possible, and the way she's changed names to make it funny -- A-rat for Arathor, He-ran for Kieran, Delirious for Delaine and Jail-bird for Galen.

you know you're reading one of my books...

when you find--

-- lots of em dashes at the ends of dialogue. my characters interrupt each other a lot.

-- lots of elipses and dashes. my characters pause their speaking and thinking a lot.

-- food. lots of food.

-- tea. seems they're always drinking tea when they talk. hmm...

-- sword fights. those are fun.

-- romance. lots of romance.

-- and kissing. don't forget that.

these are the things i've noticed as i've read through Eldala to edit for re-release sometime in the near future.

want to know the coolest thing i discovered?

even though it's my story and i know how it ends and i've read it like a gazillion times, i get so involved in the story that i forget to edit.

because false starts drive me CRAZY...

i have to read quotes like this one to be reminded...

Good rewriting demands easy, unhurried tinkering with words. Each unsuccessful try eliminates another wrong solution and leads you to the right one. I can’t emphasize too strongly how important this is, the fact that writing leads to writing, that failed attempts lead to eventual success, that the solution to a rewriting problem is made up of all the attempts that led nowhere.

The trouble is that when you’re just beginning to write, you may believe that words committed to paper are sacred, fixed, immutable. But you’re not dealing with a finished, printed, copyrighted book, only with an idea, a pile of words that will change many times before they take shape as a book. ~Dorothy Bryant

do they drive you crazy?