SIX DAYS until submission!
I had a better morning this morning, with two chapters edited before I descended into the bowels of the day job. In the narrative, the final battle has begun, which means my original prose had occasionally strayed away from my main characters’ POVs and adopted a more omniscient, authorial perspective.
It’s an easy trap to fall into when you’re describing complex action, especially when the action is so cool you get carried away! Much of this morning’s labour has therefore involved dealing with editorial comments like “this is a bit told” or “can you bring this more into [character name]’s point of view?” It’s satisfying work, because nothing really changes, it just gets focused. Any change that enhances character in moments of high action is a good thing.
What else? Adding the occasional direct thought to embed the POVs more robustly. Yet more clarification of geography (the terrain where the battle occurs has a very particular layout, and it’s important to keep everyone and everything in the right place at the right time).
Despite (or perhaps because of) the sense that time is bleeding rapidly away, this is one heck of a buzz …
Graham Edwards 