Second Pass

Okay, different writers have different ways of doing things.

I draft.

My first draft is rough. It's where I find out what the plot is going to be, where the characters are going development wise, and generally just "gets me there." It is the skeleton of the story. This is why I fret so much about the Serial. Without a second pass and edits, it's a little rough around the edges and I don't get to go back and "fix" things, insert clues and generally polish.

On the other hand, it does give you (a) a story; and (b) a feel for what pre-edit work can look like. At least that's what I tell myself. LOL.

The second pass is where the "meat" gets added, descriptions, backstory, clues for foreshadowing, etc. A lot of the "tone" comes in on this pass. Books I'm primary on typically gain a third to half their length in the second pass. That's how much gets added. Cathy, on the other hand, is a "one pass" kind of gal. She puts it all in the first time. Wish I could. There are times during the first draft and even in the second pass that I despair of it ever becoming a book and have what my son refers to as "STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER" moments---moments when I think it's all dreck and I am tempted to just hit the delete key. He could always tell when he lived here just when I was about to hit that wall and he'd say the above and convince me to take a day off. It always helped. The book was never as bad as I thought it looked in those dark moments.

Edits are the "skin and hair." They make it look like a real book.

Copy edits are the make-up, clothes, and accessories. They get the novel "ready for an evening out."

So Book 2 of the Blood Singer series is going in for the second pass over the next few days. I usually like to let a book sit for a few days before I do a second pass, let my head clear so I see it fresh. But we're already on an extension and there just isn't time. But I've been around this block a fair few times now. I won't hit the delete key.