Everything Changes

Changes are what editing is all about!

Today, I completed my editorial edit of my YA manuscript, the Child of Chaos. It addressed a bunch of issues identified by my eagle-eyed beta readers.

Let me be clear: while I’m very proud of this work of fiction, it would not be nearly the story it is without the incredible help I received from some very good (and smart and insightful) friends, going back years.

I acknowledge that I start thinking about story from a world and plot perspective, but characters are what compel readers to keep reading, so I’ve been working hard on them for a while.

In a previous edit, I deepened my villain. Even so, he was never the problem. My villain steals the show every time he shows up.

My concern has been my protagonist for a long time. While we root for him, he always took a back seat to the villain’s shenanigans. No longer. With this edit, we truly get to know our hero, what makes him tick, why he needs to evolve, and why he’s a match for his nemesis.

And I can’t wait to get into producing the visuals (the cover for instance). I’ve got plenty of experience with this kind of stuff from my game development days. It’s a wonderful experience working with talented people to see one’s vision come to life.

Thank you to everyone for being on this journey with me. I’m so glad to be able to share all of this with you, and I hope you stick with me!