In my last post (Deep Dive), I wrote about immersing myself in the copy editing phase of my WIP (work in progress). One week later, I'm nearly done pouring over Benjamin Dreyer's excellent resource book Dreyer's English & enhancing my old list of pitfalls to avoid. And yes, the revisions are piling up (over 300 & counting with only half the list checked off).

In all honesty, I'm enjoying myself. Even though other people would no doubt cringe at the thought of finding so many dos & don'ts to mess with, I embrace the whole lot. No surprise given the number that accumulated during a similar stage with my previous novel & how dogged I was about rooting them out to the best of my ability.

So an inquisitive sort might wonder what exactly it is I'm changing so close to the finish line. Dreyer sums it up nicely in two chapters: "Tidying Up (Your Prose)" & "The Realities of Fiction."

I'm happy to report none of the searches of my narration turned up anything on his challenge list under Go a Week Without Writing—very, rather, really, quite, in fact, just (not in the sense of righteous) & so (as in extremely). I ignored dialog since I agree with his focus on written/narrative, not spoken, language.

But, oh, did I find grimacing, glancing, & clearing of throats aplenty. Not to mention swallowing, flinching, startling, & stumbling. Not anymore. I blitzed 'em here & there, spaced 'em out where needed, & moved on.

The best part for me is that before reading Dreyer's admonitions, I'd already kept my character names distinct (none of them starting with the same letter), my pronoun usage clear & focused, & blinking, huffing, snorting, & smiling weakly out of the mix altogether.

Even though I've convinced myself to roll up my sleeves & relish the moment, I know full well I'll be one happy independent author when this phase is in my rearview mirror & I'm back to working on something new.

Keep you posted.

Drew
Drew Faraday
Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown