Beginning 2nd Draft of THE REFLECTING STONE

I have tied things together well enough that I feel comfortable starting the rewrite of THE REFLECTING STONE. This will be the second complete draft. I'm starting at the very beginning and will continue through to the end. I will write it in such a way that it could stand alone, but would readily lend itself to serving as the first of a series should it get published and a publisher be interested in a continuation of this story. There is much, much, much more to tell, although this first volume is already an amazing, epic story in its own right (are writers biased about their own work?).

I wrote the first chapter and went back over it, editing it a bit, although I will try to curtail my tendency to heavily edit the first several chapters before turning myself loose to move quickly through successive chapters. I'm getting back to "draft" mode, which is enjoyable once you put all your cares aside and let go of the internal editor. I hope to finish this draft in about a month, no more than six weeks if I run into obstacles.

It's possible this draft will be close enough to a finished product that I can simply edit it, but if I feel another complete rewrite would aid in the storytelling, I'm willing to do it. Each time through you understand better the connections, the motivations, the cause and effect relationships. Each time through you get better at telling it. I had tried to avoid successive rewrites, putting emphasis on the planning before writing, but I'm willing to accept the need for rewrites even with all that planning. Anything to make the story better. "The story's the thing."

This week I have been feeling a little under the weather, so I haven't pushed myself as much as I would have liked. I think I needed a bit of a break. I'll just ease into it, and within a few days should be in full swing again. Then it'll be a mad dash to the finish line. Loads of fun for us writerly types.

Gearing up again,

Adrian