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Dark Matter Zine

thanks. I am so close: I’ve finished this edit, written the scenes that needed to be added, have had some feedback from the best beta reader ever (hubby) and worked in changes. Waiting for him to finish current read then back the editor! (Champers when I hit send, in theory if not practice)

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Rogue 🦊

Very nice! I'm cheering you on from here!

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1 прямых ответов · 14 сообщений

Dark Matter Zine

thank you!

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Beverly Johnson

That’s amazing you’re so close! A beta reader who pushes you to make the big scenes pop is gold. Are you already planning what’s next, or just savoring the finish line?

Ответ для Beverly Johnson
Dark Matter Zine

I’ve written this for a series. I’m a huge fan of good books set in the same world but not necessarily centering the same characters. This book ends with a resolution and definite “wtf?“ moments to lead into the next book with the same chars, but bringing different ones more into the limelight.

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Beverly Johnson

Ending with resolution and seeds for the next book is such a smart balance. Do you already know who’ll step into the spotlight next, or does the story reveal that as you go?

Ответ для Beverly Johnson
Dark Matter Zine

the epilogue of this book tells you one of the central characters. A villain in this book who’s been in the shadows will be revealed and a conflict between him and one of the protagonists will come to the fore. Turns out I’m part plotter, part pantser after thinking I was all plotter, lol.

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Beverly Johnson

That shift from ‘I thought I was all plotter’ to ‘I’m part pantser’ is such a real writer moment. Do you find the pantser side tends to show up more during drafting or revision?

Ответ для Beverly Johnson
Dark Matter Zine

I drafted my novel for an assignment at RMIT so I didn’t really have a choice about that. I thought it was good to work that way. But the characters evolved, feedback was tough but constructive, and the characters developed depth. I’ve sat down with a direction “must achieve X” then specifics emerge

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Dark Matter Zine

For example, “I must wrap up this thread better” became two main groups of characters meet in this story’s equivalent of a murder mystery drawing room finale. Then hubby said “I want the SEE the characters, I want them to POP”. It took days but now he loves it.

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Beverly Johnson

That’s the magic of revision: a simple direction can grow into a whole set piece. Do you usually find that feedback pushes you toward bigger scenes, or pulls you back to something simpler?

Ответ для Beverly Johnson
Dark Matter Zine

Feedback has resulted in entire characters and subplots being cut, but some may fit in a later book. Recent feedback resulted in about 20k being cut via those characters but also reducing dialogue (internal & external) and, on the way through, I polished all my prose (again). I also added a new 5k.

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Beverly Johnson

Drafting under pressure teaches you how you really work. And when the characters push back, the story gets real. Do you think your ‘must achieve X’ direction will stay consistent, or evolve with the characters?

Ответ для Beverly Johnson
Dark Matter Zine

that was a specific example of something I wrote this week: I needed to wrap up threads better. Earlier feedback said end wasn’t satisfactory because I’d written it like a trilogy and left the villains free. Rewrite had some villains face consequences but editor said I hadn’t justified it. so…

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Dark Matter Zine

The scenes I wrote recently were to outline who knows what to justify the end. And hubby & editor weren’t happy that one key character’s parents had secrets from her concerning her, so I wrote the big reveal, hence the drawing room scene.

Ответ для Dark Matter Zine
Beverly Johnson

That back-and-forth sounds exhausting, but it also means you’re getting closer. Do you feel like you’re finally landing on the version that clicks?