Editing

I'm working on revising Boundy By Duty for the final round of Finally A Bride. Frankly, after reading all the comments I received, I'm shocked that it finaled in two contests.

I got great feedback from the PYHIAB Contest final round judges. It struck me as interesting that an editor, agent and a multi-published author had very different ideas where the entry needed work (although on further reflection, I think they said the same thing in a different way). They scored me 1st, 3rd, and 2nd in that order. All their comments struck a chord, so I had a lot of changes to make.

For the FAB final, I was going to tweek a couple things and send it off, but once I got going, I decided I might as well overhaul the entire first two chapters. Here's what I did:

I upgraded my characterizations, took out a major plot point, removed superfluous dialog and replaced it with something that actually shows conflict. I changed my hero's actions in one scene, and I made sure that the reader knows more of his background. I showed the external conflict, and I'm hoping I've demonstrated their internal conflict. I added a plot point and beefed up the tension.

And after doing all this, I somehow managed to shrink the entry by 2000 words. It's due Monday (nothing like a little procrastination) and I'm feeling pretty good about the changes. But having 2 editors read the new version will be interesting.

A know a lot of you are hip deep in revisions. How are they going?

Today's goal: Finish FAB revisions
Yesterday's accomplishment: Almost got them done.
What I'm grateful for: Editor feedback. Nothing like it.
Quote: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)