Commencing revision #2.

I always wondered how other authors could count the number of revisions they’d made, because I’ve been constantly returning to “Revision #1” in my working moments, not feeling it was worth double-saving with a new number since it was obviously better the new way.

But now I’ve got an idea.

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This latest talk on cutting (and the reading and thinking I’ve been doing) has brought me to a new outline, greatly streamlining the plot and action.

It’s 20% as long as the last one. Insanely simple. I’m hoping it proves to be more than a skeleton…

Yes, I feel like I’m losing some pet characters and interactions, but I also hope this new organization will be easier on the readers.

There’s too much fun stuff in my first revision to whittle any more at it, so I decided to set it aside in its own little folder (with it’s preface, postlude and 43 chapters), and start with a fresh canvas.

I expect to build the new revision by bringing in just the parts that are on my skinny new outline and see how it holds together with some new ligature.

It seems very exciting just now.

(And, no, no one else has to think so. :P )

I had the delight this evening of talking with a handful of Magic-playing “nerds” at the library.

Actually they started the Nerd v. Geek discussion a couple times, but ultimately said it was fine to call them nerds.

They were at the next table while I waited for other SCBWI members who never arrived. When a chair opened up I impulsively grabbed my character-list and (after verifying they were fantasy-readers) asked their opinion on the readability (and confusablity) of the names.

I got some useful feedback, and from the list began telling a corner of the story.

They were hooked, and I can’t say how exciting it was for me as a storyteller to have them hanging on and asking intelligent, clarifying questions.

One boy in particular was tracking very closely and made a couple connections on his own, which assured me of the story’s internal (fantasy) logic.

Jay said I should take the first few chapters back next week for them to read, and I think I will. The idea of instant feedback from my target-audience is very attractive.

Yes, they said they’d like to read it.

I’m currently trying to decide if there are any drawbacks.

I have 50 named characters in my calendar/time-line spreadsheet.

No, they don’t even all come on-stage, but yes, I needed to name them all to keep them straight in my own head.

I didn’t create them all at once, but I am pretty impressed that I even have 50 different names to offer up.

I guess all that prep-work I did right before NaNo ’06 is still paying off!

It never ceases to amaze me how much of a character will “spring” from finding the perfect name.

In writing the book I’ve always wanted to read (somebody help me with the credit on that line), I knew I wanted to have at least one family whose child-bearing pattern would actually match that of a pre-birth control era.

You ever notice how few children are in most folktales?

As a storyteller/writer I can appreciate trying to keep things simple for the sake of the story, but I feel that (especially in the space a novel allows) the reality of the era ought to overshadow a bit our subconscious expectations.

So I planned for two of my major (not main) characters to be siblings from a big family, then I sketched out time line that would have their mother pregnant at intervals reasonable for the era.

This allowed me to set them into the birth-order in ways that explained some of their behavior (very fun) but left me needing to create at least names for all these other children.

I finally did that today, and I was surprised at how much I could get from nothing more than a name/birth-order combo. A short sampling of new “extras”:

• The stolid oldest son of average intelligence who enjoys working with his father
• The “joker” younger son who embraces the role of “village idiot” and uses what he learns (his part looks like it’s definitely going to grow— another spontaneous creation)
• The “invisible” middle child (even his name is boring)
• The sweetness of a little girl who becomes her brother’s first failed rescue and undeserved guilt. (This sets up a whole character arc).

This all falls under background work, and may never see the light, but (especially the bit with the little sister) it clarifies a major character’s background and motivation and clears the way for better writing.

I love playing with names.

Oh, and remember the event/age matching I mentioned before? A very kind friend did make me a custom Excel program, and it’s been awesome.

I’m still working at entering formulas to calculate dates (rather than dates themselves, in case I end up needing to move something), and adding events and individuals.

This program allows me to include more characters in the calculations (since I don’t have to iterate everything out for each minor player), and helps me better keep track of everyone.

It enables me to seriously juggle this huge family and quickly compare where new people fit in.

Thanks Tom!

But it’s working….

I finally opened a spreadsheet and did a Y x X of characters and their ages at major events.

This precipitated the necessity of starting a second sheet verifying the dates of said major events, and deciding how the calendar is ordered in this region/age.

April through March, in case you wanted to know.

Before too much longer I’m going to have to figure out some cartography, which will in turn necessitate wraping my mind around the concept of scale– something that heretofore has eluded me horribly in all fantasy contexts (books, games, movies, whatever).

I start out wanting to tell a story, and love how the “fantasy” can just happen (Hey, cool! no research required!). But while I really hate the act of filling in the little squares– connections of age, event, etc., I have to admit it’s been highly useful in rounding out character interactions and even motivations.

Rats.

Has anyone already written an Excel program for this? It seems eminently doable in such a formula-based program, I just don’t know how.

*Okay.* Vent over. Back to punching numbers.

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Edited 2/28 to add:

Here’s my second Blogiversary. Just thought I’d mention it, though I think I said everything pertinent in my First Blogiversary post a year ago.

God continues to be faithful, I continue to learn. (And I praise Him for both.)

I think this is
The prettiest world— so long as you don’t mind
a little dying, how could there be a day in your whole life
that doesn’t have its splash of happiness?