Revising in the Dark

What I'm reading: Love me to Death, by Allison Brennan

When you're an author, you sit and write the books in your head. Sometimes the story flows, sometimes it slogs, but you write. Most of us have critique partners or groups—people to bounce ideas off of, and to offer feedback on the WIPs. If they say they have trouble with a plot thread, or even the way you've worded a paragraph, the decision to change things is yours. But what happens when someone with more clout than a crit partner wants changes?

Late last week, I heard from my agent, who finally heard from the editor. We'd submitted a three chapter proposal last November, and, as happens so often in this business, we waited. And waited.

The news. Good and not quite so good. The good. The editor didn't say no. The not so good. She wanted me to revise.

Rewriting and Darning Socks

What I'm reading: Locked In, by Marcia Muller

Long, long ago, when I was a wee lass, my mother was teaching me all the ins and outs of what the school system called "Home Economics". I learned to knit (potholders), to cook (crushing Graham crackers for Mom's cheesecake crust) to make beds with hospital corners. I learned to iron starting with my dad's handkerchiefs (because then all men carried white handkerchiefs) and pillowcases. Mom and Dad's generation had lived through the Depression, and frugality was a way of life.

So even though Mom had a 'darning egg', I was surprised when she told me that if a sock got a hole in the heel, to throw it away "because you'll never get it mended smooth, and it'll raise blisters on whoever wears it."

As I mentioned Saturday, I've been working on revising a plot thread my crit partners had some trouble with.

The major question was whether there was a justifiable reason for a burgeoning relationship between the cop protagonist (Gordon), and Angie, who works in the town's #1 café. From the start of the book, it's been clear to everyone in town (except Gordon), that he has a 'thing' for her. The paramedics are betting on whether he asks her out before Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. So having them finally hook up in the book doesn't bother me at all. And since it's not a romance, there's no need for Angie to be a POV character.

However, the scene where they finally consummated the relationship (or, as one of my commenters said, "do the naughty") didn't seem to serve any purpose beyond the relationship angle. Having one reason for a scene isn't really enough justification for having it on the page.