Last Big Rewrite Underway

Back in December I received Laurie's edit of Redemption on the River.  (Her services are not cheap, but are worth every penny.)  She had some nice things to say about RotR, complimented me on my overall authorial skills, and then went to great lengths in pointing out areas that need improvement.

Her edit encompassed everything from niggling little punctuation corrections to big picture, this-doesn't-quite-work observations.  I concurred with 85% of what she said, and over the course of the past few months have corresponded with her to ask follow-up questions, request clarification of some points, and run new ideas past her.

It has taken quite a while to wrap my head around everything, make major decisions about how to proceed, and regain my motivation to sit down and power through another rewrite.  My motivation is back, however, and I'm becoming increasingly jealous of time not spent on the novel.

Some of the changes are tough, though, and although nothing is really set in stone it sometimes feels like it after ten drafts.  At least one minor character is going away, others are changing, and some scenes are being outright deleted.  The most startling effect so far is that the protagonist, Silas, someone I thought I knew through and through, is changing too.

 His change is subtle, not big, and it's because of some little changes in the beginning.  It's like the initial placement of the starting dominos have been adjusted slightly, and as a result they fall in different patterns, and the differences get bigger the further from the start they fall.

Interesting stuff.