Chainsaws Out

Yes, I’m still revising Doleful Creatures. Right now, doing so with a chainsaw.

I’ve had a few beta readers tell me I need to get to the point, that I’m taking too long to get to the story, that I’m starting to sound like Rachel Maddow building up to Trump’s 2005 tax return.

So I’m cutting. And rearranging. But mostly cutting. If I read a chapter and can’t decide what the point to it is or how it helps the story along, it goes. I might mark some of it for preservation elsewhere, but mostly I’m just cutting. In fact, with the last few cuts, the one of the final remnants of the original story I started out with is gone. Oh, the main story is still there. Just cutting another subplot that was slowing the story down.

Hoping this helps a bit.

Also hoping I can remain consistent. Last time I undertook a serious revision, I got through the first 25 chapters, then had to set it aside for work-related crises, and never got back to it. I could have started up again at Chapter 26, but I had the feeling that would not help with consistency. And I’m glad I started over – because I’ve cut a lot. Or at least set some stuff aside for consideration elsewhere or later. Or never.