Spanish has entered the chat
We began Spanish classes in September. They have been invaluable, but by the time I get home from class, my brain has very little fuel left. After three years of devoting all my mental energy to writing, this has been a big, somewhat painful adjustment. But learning the language is crucial to creating a fulfilling life here, so I have accepted that for the time being, my writing progress will be slower.
That said, Echoes is chugging right along!
Weekends are prime writing time. And waking up to write before class—before my brain is zapped of nearly all thought—has become a sort of sacred ritual. Never have I looked forward to waking up early as much as I do now. And despite the time difference, I continue to meet with my two writing partners from the US.
What happened?
After reading Draft 4 (D4) all the way through, I compiled my thoughts and the feedback from my critique partners into one list, then prioritized it by level of impact.
Since one of my goals with Draft 5 (D5) is to cut 20k words, I formed a strategy for dealing with loose ends. If a thread I established in the beginning did not pay off in the finale, I either cut it or found a way to tie it in.
Then I dove into a full rewrite of chapter 1. Not every chapter will require a rewrite of this scale—most will change only superficially. But in order for the ending I discovered in D4 to be effective, I had to set it up properly in chapter 1. Finding the right track and tone took some time, but it was worth it: I emerged with a stronger foundation for D5.
From there, I continued through act 1, teasing out the downstream impacts of the new chapter 1 and implementing the other big items on my to do list, until I met the next chapter requiring a more invasive rewrite.
What’s next?
Lots of editing! The general plan is to continue implementing the large changes without getting lost in the weeds. This will be very difficult. I am a perfectionist, and fretting over prose is one of my favorite things to do. But I need to get the new big pieces in place first. When they’re done, I will reward myself with line-level edits.
A note on Draft 5
Regardless of how long it takes, D5 already feels different. For so long, my story had gaps I did not know how to fill. That uncertainty weighed heavily on my confidence and wore me down with worry. But in between finishing D4 and beginning D5, I figured out how to fill those gaps, and when I sit down to write, I feel lighter.
The right pieces are in my hands; it’s just a matter of setting them into place.