Nearing the 1/3 mark on the edits. That’s a rough estimate, since some issues involve more work than others, but good progress, nonetheless.

One point in particular I have avoided without shame: a major character revision. Basically, this issue means rewriting 3/4 of a character’s dialog. Deep in my heart, I know the lines would work on a stage — and a screen — but none of The Eight heard his voice quite the same way I did in my head. Therefore, I failed to make a case for the character on the page. A damnable oversight. Even though the glitch is one item on the hitlist, fixing it might take longer than all the others combined. And that is why I dodge the inevitable, for now.

Next time, I’ll have a better feel for the reader.

I’m snowmobiling this weekend with friends. By a stroke of fate — and maybe a fat dose of luck — one of them brought a laptop, and I carry the novel on a USB drive, so I’m working on revisions in between relaxation in the lounge of the bed and breakfast. Thank you, fellow traveler.

Vermont is gorgeous. Now back to work…and fun.

Implementing fixes to the novel is a lot harder — and yet easier — than I expected. The hard part is finding time for the revisions. Perhaps that’s resistance talking. The conscious mind understands the edits are necessary, the unconscious mind wants to believe that the first draft is tighter than its present form. On the other hand, when I revise, I’m amazed at how much the suggestions improve the story; it lightens the load.

Not sure how long the process might take, but I’m roughly ten percent into the big issues, those items ranked five on the severity scale. In the meantime, I’m having fun.