THREE days until submission! I haven’t quite reached the peak of this ghostwriting mountain, but I have completed most of the final ascent. The steep slopes are behind me. All that remains ahead is a short trek up the last ridge that ascends steadily to the summit. It doesn’t look too arduous, but the ledges are precarious and it’s a long way down. There are still plenty of opportunities to fall.
To put it another way, I’ve just finished working through all the editorial comments on the MS of the novel, leaving me the weekend to make a final pass, just to satisfy myself. This morning’s work involved more exciting battle action and (rubs hand in glee) a couple of juicy deaths.
Frankly, I didn’t have too much editing to do, just the usual trimming round the borders of the prose. The main stylistic tweak came in the final chapter, which uses an omniscient POV to create the equivalent of a cinematic zoom-out. Here and there I’d zoomed out a little too far, with the result that we felt somewhat detached from the characters. Easily fixed with some judiciously place moments of dialogue.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll swap my crampons for walking boots. The air is fresh and clear up here and I intend to make the most of this final hike.
I tell you something – it’s a hell of a view.
Graham Edwards 