Meredith Mansfield, Author

I’ve successfully gotten myself into revision mode and back into the story and characters of BLOOD WILL TELL.

I’ve even drafted the new first chapter. I tried to do two things with it:

1. Start the story off more as the urban fantasy it is.
2. Show some of my main character’s strong emotions earlier.

I don’t know how well I’ve succeeded, yet, but that’s what first drafts are for. I’ll get a few readers in a couple of weeks (after it’s had time to sit a little and I’ve gone back over it) and then decide whether this works or if I need to do more.

I think the strong emotions are key. My main character starts out sort of bottled up, very controlled. But that’s what’s shows on the outside, not what’s really going on on the inside. I need to dig deeper and show more of her inner turmoil early in the story. She has reasons for keeping her emotions on a tight leash, but there are still things she cares deeply about. That both builds conflict and should help readers to identify more with her.

Aside from that, my goals (for now, subject to change as I get going) are to:

1. Enhance one of the side characters. She’s shy, but, like her cousin the main character, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a lot going on underneath. I need to show her strengths earlier and probably give her a little more time as the point of view character.
2. Add more suspense to the climax. Right now, it doesn’t feel enough like the good guys could really fail. I have some ideas for that.
3. Reduce or elimate certain other points of view in the story. I think the antagonist is getting too much point of view time. It’s making him seem a little bumbling and not a serious enough threat. (See the point above.) There are a couple of other minor characters who get point of view scenes, too. I’m going to give a hard look at what I need–and don’t need–in those scenes. Some will be cut.
4. There’s a longish section near the beginning that leaves the urban fantasy and goes off into an alternate world. I need it. But I also may need to cut it back, some.

Those are my main goals for this revision. Of course, certain specific scenes or chapters have additional goals for the action that occurs there, as well.

On to revisions.