We'll just stick a pin in that for now.
I've taken a short break from painting to go back and re-write Interesting Times. The ebook publisher Vook, a division of MacMillan publishing, went under this last January and the book was therefore taken down from Amazon and I didn't do anything about it. Until now.
I decided that I'd put it up directly through my account with Kindle Direct Publishing. So the other day I went to enroll it and get it back up there and right when it was time to upload the files I stopped. I stopped and thought about all the times I laid (lay) in bed, unable to sleep, and thought about the Kansas City section and the ending. Every time, I regretted writing that part and wished I had taken more time coming up with something that would move the story along better, made the story more enjoyable, more memorable. I always felt bad that I rushed through that part just to finish it up and get it into out there in the public to be ignored sooner.
Anyway, there I was, at the crossroads, so to speak. Having been presented with a second chance to "do the right thing" and finish that book the right way, finally, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
I emailed Roberta, my reader, and asked her if she was interested in helping and she said yes, so I started last Thursday or Friday. At this point I've gone through about 30 chapters making a few changes along the way and sent them off for her to read and critique.
It's the first time I've gone through the book since 2013 and I'm a little surprised at the way I wrote it. It's clear it was my first book by the way I phrased things. I was obviously proud of my vocabulary and wanted to get across to the millions of readers I expected that I was clever and erudite (means well educated) and had a great sense of humor. In order to accomplish that, I was more than willing to throw away the concept of appropriate character voices and consistency and using vocabulary to move the story along. Instead I tried to write it like I was a combination of George Will and Bill Crystal. Embarrassing!
I haven't completely fixed everything in it but I've made it more readable if not more clear. Today I reached the edge of the target chapter and tomorrow I intend to tackle it. I came up with an idea last night of how I was going to fix it. Instead of raising the ante and flash in it, I'm going the other direction and I'm going to go bigger by making it less flashy.
I also feel that I rushed so much once I got past Denver that the story pace is lost and it's obvious to the reader. I may have to add another chapter towards the end to correct that.
I know it will make no difference at all to the ultimate significance of the book or it's sales or meaning. But it'll make me feel much better and I'll be able to look back at it and feel that I did a much better job of it, finally.
After that's done, back to painting.
More later,
Anyway, there I was, at the crossroads, so to speak. Having been presented with a second chance to "do the right thing" and finish that book the right way, finally, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
I emailed Roberta, my reader, and asked her if she was interested in helping and she said yes, so I started last Thursday or Friday. At this point I've gone through about 30 chapters making a few changes along the way and sent them off for her to read and critique.
It's the first time I've gone through the book since 2013 and I'm a little surprised at the way I wrote it. It's clear it was my first book by the way I phrased things. I was obviously proud of my vocabulary and wanted to get across to the millions of readers I expected that I was clever and erudite (means well educated) and had a great sense of humor. In order to accomplish that, I was more than willing to throw away the concept of appropriate character voices and consistency and using vocabulary to move the story along. Instead I tried to write it like I was a combination of George Will and Bill Crystal. Embarrassing!
I haven't completely fixed everything in it but I've made it more readable if not more clear. Today I reached the edge of the target chapter and tomorrow I intend to tackle it. I came up with an idea last night of how I was going to fix it. Instead of raising the ante and flash in it, I'm going the other direction and I'm going to go bigger by making it less flashy.
I also feel that I rushed so much once I got past Denver that the story pace is lost and it's obvious to the reader. I may have to add another chapter towards the end to correct that.
I know it will make no difference at all to the ultimate significance of the book or it's sales or meaning. But it'll make me feel much better and I'll be able to look back at it and feel that I did a much better job of it, finally.
After that's done, back to painting.
More later,
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