The draft of Symbiosis (WIP) is now a year old, so it’s time to start the edits. I sent my first page for a review/critique through a workshop with James River Writers. The feedback gave me the push I needed to get into the edits. So, here we go!
I’ve reworked the beginning scenes a smidge and finally found a way through a piece I knew wasn’t working. The changes I made required two scenes to receive complete makeovers to fit the new storyline. Initially, I was having a hard time writing the first new scene as it was only a bridge to the second new scene. I needed to find a way to “want” to write it, and I found it. I was able to add a small interaction between the MC and another character. Bonus: this will help in later scenes when the MC actually meets this character.
Some time last year, I created a spreadsheet to track my story beats. The tracker, based on my all time fave book for writers — Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, breaks down each act and beat into percentages and word counts. I am in the process of a broad review of my current draft to see where it fits into the beats based on word count. Even though I am only a few beats into the edit, it’s lining up as it should. This is exciting!
It may be odd to think about writing as percentages and numbers, but isn’t everything about numbers? For me, breaking down this overwhelming task into segments feels right. I am a “pantser” at heart, but I do love an organized spreadsheet!
Wendy Crafton Writes 