Meredith Mansfield, Author

Well, so much for balance.  Once I got into BLOOD WILL TELL, I got caught up in it (again) and just went straight through.  I really, really love this story.  I believe in it.  Someone else will, too.  So, a bit more spit and polish on the query letter and the synopsis and off it goes again.

My expectation was correct.  Through the rest of the book, I have what I think is an appropriate level of immersion into the characters.  Deep penetration into the point of view at the emotional highs and lows, moderate throughout most of the rest, and narrowed to the immediate during escapes and fights.

What I have learned from this experience is that it seems that I have a little trouble getting into my characters’ heads right at the beginning of a story or novel.  It takes me a chapter or so to get comfy in there.  When I think about it, that doesn’t seem unreasonable. 

Now that I realize that, it’s something I can look for and fix on the second draft (when I’ve had plenty of time to get comfy), just like my writer’s tic of starting sentences with conjunctions.  So, the experience has been good.  Now I know what to look for.

As far as balancing some revisions along with the first draft work, my internal editor will have to be content with revisions to the synopsis for now.  Maybe after that, I’ll pick up revisions to that short story that’s been sitting patiently and waiting for me to get back to it.