On Novel Writing XIII

I’m starting to see the end of my theoretically final revision of Bloody Angel. I’ve been slowly re-reading and fleshing out the manuscript lately. I’m now 265 pages into the 350 page draft. Just last evening I composed a new 400 word three-paragraph insert scene. A particular event late in the story is predicated upon an event earlier in the story, but the transition between event A and event B was originally presented entirely through implication, and I’ve never been entirely satisfied with that development, or more properly, lack thereof. So yesterday, while re-reading, I realized an ideal structural opportunity to insert a short scene that overtly lays the foundation for “event B” which occurs later in the story.

I also had an idea that I can implement in one of the forthcoming scenes. I’ve never been entirely satisfied with the two penultimate fights either – the first one more so than the later one. So I realized something else that I can do within that first fight. Changing the scene will require a bit of substantial alteration and re-writing, but it’s still just re-writing that one select scene. The idea I’ve got doesn’t directly impact any other scenes outside of that singular battle sequence.

So far I’m very pleased with the way this “final” revision is going. I’m realizing that this is a book that needs to be read slowly in order for the reader to fully process all of the details because, unlike most mainstream authors that use relatively simple diction and elaborate details with multiple sentences, I prefer concision and rhetoric and deliberately try to convey the same amount of information in fewer carefully selected words. I’m not actually praising myself; in terms of word counts, writing the way I do actually reduces my chances of getting picked up for publication. As an illustration, I’m particularly happy with this “new” sentence that I added a few days ago: “As she yanked her weapons free, a thick red mist filled the air, and the two men slipped out of it, sinking quietly to the ground like twitching poisoned insects.” I like the strength and evocative motion of the verb “yanked.” I think that the description of spraying blood as a “red mist,” like a cloud of poison, is a very visual image. The men “sinking to the ground like poisoned insects” evokes death while simultaneously suggesting Anastasia’s perception of the thugs as less than human. The “twitching” human bodies is a grim extra little detail. I also like the deliberate consonance of “slipped,” “sinking,” and “insects.”

Furthermore, I now finally feel like the book really evokes the sort of somber, sad, oppressive tone that I always wanted it to have. Now that I’m really fleshing it out, I think the subtle, polishing revision is really injecting the atmosphere that I want the story to have. So I’m thinking that this may finally be my “completion” cycle because I’m now finally satisfied and happy with the pages I’ve read through so far.