Wednesday 13 February 2013

Daphne, meet Helvetica [revisions]


Already this year I've completed a revision of SUNDOWN II, and currently I'm working on DAPHNE II, and I've discovered that, on Scrivener for Mac at least, the story looks kind of groovy in Helvetica font. ;) I haven't got all that far in my revisions, and I wouldn't say I'm being absolutely perfectionist during this round. I guess my goals are to get my word count down (it started at about 111k, and I'd like it to be more like 95k) and fix up some inconsistencies. I also have other little goals, but for the most part the word count whittling is what I'm aiming for.

I really do love this story after the rewrite. I kind of loved it before the rewrite, but I am quite excited by the bad boy character I introduced in the rewrite. I want to tweak some of his scenes a little bit, to better illustrate his own issues. He's a little too stable considering all he's gone through, but I still want him to have that core reliability (whether he believes he does or not). There's also a minor character (a timid little mouse of a girl who is overwhelmed by most aspects of life) who I don't know if I should keep. She doesn't really serve any purpose, and in the latter parts of the story I neglected her entirely (guess I answered my question then, didn't I?). I was planning to kill her off, but I think the story has more than enough drama as it is without adding a death to the mix. So I might get rid of her entirely, even though I enjoy her scenes.

Revisions are going slowly, and I feel a little like I'm stumbling around in the dark, but I know this is only the beginning, so I'm not feeling too under pressure to get things perfect during this revision round. But, um, what was the whole point of this post? Oh yeah, I like this Helvetica font. :) And yes, I do tend to be a frequent font changer!!

What are you working on?

20 comments:

  1. Congrats on completing revisions for Sundown! :) It's a good thing you don't put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect. That's always when things turn out the best. Good luck!

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  2. I stuck in eternal revisions... I've been going for a year and a half on a novella/short novel... a colonial era sci-fi thriller that I just can't complete. Will be done in a Month... I swear.

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  3. It's always a good feeling to still be excited by a story even in the midst of revisions. Mine are going slowly too :-(
    I don't think I can change fonts in Scrivener, but maybe that's cos I'm using a pc?

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  4. Hey, sounds like things are going well. I guess in revisions you really get down to analysing the usefulness of each character, and it sounds like you're making progress on that front!

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  5. Looks like things are going great! Revisions are always slow for me. I want things to be perfect the first time around, but of course, they're not. I push through, but writing first drafts is my favorite thing to do. That's what I'm doing right now!

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  6. Rewrites can be hard because it's like a domino when you change one thing. They are messy for a while, but so worth it in the end. Keep it up!

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  7. Good luck with your revisions! I'm a bit over the 200,000-word mark in my WIP, so I'm almost half-done. I kind of wish I were able to experiment more with fonts in my writing, since I love fonts so much, but I've been writing exclusively in Palatino for 19 years and feel bonded to it. Though I did just download a really neat typewriter font, Underwood Champion, which I'm thinking of using to write my class papers in for a change.

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  8. I need to work on doing revisions; usually I just write it and go. What you're doing is awesome. I shall have to take a look at that Helvetica font. :)

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  9. Congrats on the revisions.

    Think you did answer your own question about that mousy girl.

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  10. I used to hate rewrites and revisions. I've come to enjoy them. They're sort of like adding the nick nacks to a newly painted room.

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  11. Hang in there with the revisions. We'll be cheering for you.

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  12. Oh my gosh! You are on a roll! I love it! I am currently working on a typing competition for my students, 6th grade blogging websites, a Blue & Gold Banquet for scouts, and finishing taxes. I haven't even seen my MS in a couple weeks. :( It's so depressing. I hope to get back to it next week!

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  13. I did a rewrite in April, and I LOVE the results. It was so worth it. If only I could have told my freak-out-hysterical self that when I made the decision. lol. Good luck!

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  14. keep writing! great attitude!

    fonts are fun =)

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  15. You can do it. :) I haven't tried changing the font on my manuscripts. I'm so used to Times New Roman. I wonder if it'll read differently if I change it.

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  16. Yes, you definitely answered your question. Good luck with the rest of the revisions! I have heard it's a good idea to change up fonts, since a person can sometimes catch more mistakes that way.

    Have a great weekend!

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  17. Oh, sounds like you're in the zone though! Good for you being able to let go of a character who goes nowhere. it's so tempting to add more plot to keep them busy, but that's the wrong answer.

    Good luck with them! And great progress with two revisions already!

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  18. Hooray for your writing progress! :)

    I like changing fonts, too. Though once I find one I prefer I tend to stick with it for the rest of the novel.

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  19. Congrats on pressing on with revisions, W0000T! As regards mousy-girl, I think it's Stephen King who urges authors to kill their little darlings...but then, it's just like him to advocate for murder, eh? (redRUM!) ;-)

    I've been alternating between procrastinating edits on my Greek-myth romance and actually doing them. (Tonight was a good night for it, though, thank God.) Had to say to myself, "Self, *this* is your bliss. All the other crap you have to deal with is NOT yours. Do what's yours." And that kicked my butt tonight, which was le awesome. Though now I'm spent. :-)

    As for fonts, I've been digging Candara a LOT! :-)

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  20. That's funny. I think I've only used one font then entire time I've been writing. :)

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