Revision: God’s Work, or the Devil’s?

We had a lovely warm day on Saturday, and I got out the lounge chair to do a bit of sunbathing. Jackson elected to go with the package deal: sunbathing AND affection. He leads a pretty good life. Good thing I’m not concerned about my tan lines!

Otherwise I’m deep into revising THE FIERY CITADEL, sequel to THE ORCHID THRONE, the first two books in my Forgotten Empires trilogy. This is the series – totally new world and characters! – that I’m doing with St. Martin’s Press. I turned in the draft of book 2 in April and my editor, Jennie Conway, sent developmental edits back to me while I was at Nebula Conference. She’s a terrifically insightful editor and gave me great feedback on tweaking the story. That’s a primary reason to go with traditional publishing, if all goes right (and some of this depends on having a good agent and serendipity), then you get to work with a fantastic editor who really brings out the best in your work and helps you to grow and move the story into the next level.

But… you know what they say: growth is painful.

I’m one of those writers who loves drafting. I used to say I hated revising – and I did – but now my feelings aren’t so strong. I don’t love it as much as the freefall rush of drafting, but it feels like good, necessary work now. Some of that is working with a good editor.

I used to have a critique partner who was the opposite of me: she *loved* revising. She called it “God’s work.” For me, revising always felt like fixing the mistakes I shouldn’t have made the first time. I’d tell her she had the wrong deity.

What’s funny is, now that I’m writing full-time – and theoretically have more bandwidth, hours, and concentration for my stories – I’ve become less demanding of myself that way. I no longer regard revising as “fixing mistakes,” but as part of the process. If we compare sculpting to writing, then my first drafts now are the rough of the figure with the surrounding marble chiseled away. The figure is recognizable, perhaps even showable, depending on your standards. In the revision stage, however, is when I bring out the shadows and highlights, when I polish the features so they have the perfect expression. I layer in the surrounding details, giving the figure context and deeper meaning.

Huh. Kind of does sound like God’s work.

Jeffe’s Most Difficult Character – Not Who You Think?

So, if you missed it on Friday, we finally had the cover reveal for THE ORCHID THRONE

This is the first book in a new trilogy I’m doing with St. Martin’s Press. Totally new world, totally new series. My editor there, Jennie Conway, called it:

the magical feminist fantasy romance I’ve always wanted ?

Which is now my new favorite tag line ever. You can read more (and preorder!) here. It comes out September 24, 2019. 

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is: Your most difficult character to have written and why. Come on over for mine, which may surprise you!

First Cup of Coffee – February 15, 2019

 

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - February 15, 2019

February 15, 2019

Jeffe Kennedy

A report today on how I got mauled by a wild animal in the night, and also thoughts on pre-plotting vs. "pantsing," and why I prefer the metaphor of gardener vs. architect - springing from musings on George R.R. Martin's storytelling in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. Also how and why the show just isn't the book and it only hurts us in the end to try to make it be that. 

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Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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Thanks for listening!

First Cup of Coffee – February 14, 2019

 

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - February 14, 2019

February 14, 2019

Jeffe Kennedy

How I handled a slow writing day and picked between three options to move forward. And also a bit on Valentine's Day, what it does and doesn't mean, and my plans for the evening. (Spoiler: none.)

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
Follow me on Amazon or BookBub
Sign up for my Newsletter!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!