Chapters 11-15 are transcribed, with many edits and rewrites. 23171 words in ten days! Who'd have thunk it?
It is a strange thing to read a first draft (scribbled in November's NaNoWri, last year) and think did I write that? Gosh, so many adjectives dropped and repeats excised. I know I said I was going to limit myself to a simple transcription - no editing. No surprises - I did not. It would have been a quicker task had I done so, but less productive.
I blame my study. This year I had earmarked to learn my craft. I have attended local writing classes/lectures almost every month. I found I could not sit on my hands (that would have made it impossible to type) and not add notes to help with my upcoming rewrites.
I am satisfied with the general story line. Phew. I have insertion of missed clues, reordering - incident to consequence, removing repeats and removing unnecessary sections in some scenes and notes for improving characters. Names have started to consolidate. The big one (and I thank one of my reviewers of my Three Shorts eBook for the comment) was show not tell. I lost track of how many times I made that notation. I even made notes for book 2 (and possibly book 3).
Here's the current blurb:
The Department of Curiosities.
Book 1: For the Good of The Empire.
Under 25 words:
The Department of Curiosities is a steampunk tale of a heroine, mad scientists, traitors and secrets. All for the good of the Empire.
The Department of Curiosities is a steampunk tale of a heroine, mad scientists, traitors and secrets. All for the good of the Empire.
Blurb:
Miss Mathilda (Tilda) Meriwether has a secret. Actually, she has several. One of them has shaped her adult life. Another now controls it.
Her Majesty Queen Victoria has control of the Empire. She is the Empire - the creator of secrets.
Sir Avery works for The Department of Curiosities - the keepers of secrets - especially if they are useful to the Empire.
When Tilda finds herself in the employment of The Department of Curiosities, she realises this is the perfect opportunity to uncover the truth behind one of her secrets. But the Queen has other plans for her.
Miss Mathilda (Tilda) Meriwether has a secret. Actually, she has several. One of them has shaped her adult life. Another now controls it.
Her Majesty Queen Victoria has control of the Empire. She is the Empire - the creator of secrets.
Sir Avery works for The Department of Curiosities - the keepers of secrets - especially if they are useful to the Empire.
When Tilda finds herself in the employment of The Department of Curiosities, she realises this is the perfect opportunity to uncover the truth behind one of her secrets. But the Queen has other plans for her.
***
I suppose I should start thinking about the cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment