Season 2, Episode 38: Details Matter
IN THIS EPISODE
Abby's had a productive last couple of weeks, but not so much words-on-the-page.
Abby organized/attended the very first Author Accelerator workshop, and then the Craft and Commerce Conference in Boise, ID - a lot of talk about email lists, cultivating email lists - very entrepreneurial in regards to what a writer would need to do post-publishing..and then she got to hang out with Mel! And Michelle Hazen! (@michellehazen on Twitter) and Monica Gokey! (@mondusko on Instagram).
So while there weren't a lot of words on the page, she really got inspired to finish her revisions. Since she doesn't write well on planes or airports, and there's way too much in Boise to keep her busy, and away from the computer, Abby's wondering if she should go back to Chapter 4 - this was the chapter where she lost her readers while reading to her daughter's class. When you know you're not going to be in your regular routine, is it a good time to revisit something that's not just a blank page?
“Don’t try to make any big major decisions that will ripple through your book when you’re tired or overwhelmed.”
It's a good time to do so, Kemlo says, as long as you're not changing something that you're going to have to worry about fixing in the rest of your chapters. If you don't have time to think it through, wait!
Abby's also wondering if layering in some humor with Chapter 4 will give it the oomph it needs. There's also some strategizing involved in what her protagonist knows, and when - these details of your story matter. You want to drop your clues in what may seem to you a fairly obvious way, but you know more about your story than anyone. Your reader isn't in your head! Don't leave too much time between the clue and the reveal, and remember - you've got to be moving your story along, there's got to be a point.
There's more world-building to be done in this and later chapters, and Kemlo recommends slipping in more world-building for Abby's book world characters. Do they know each other, recognize each other? There are opportunities in this section, and others to make reference, shore up what the reader knows about the book world. Weaving these details in, layer upon later, iteration upon iteration, is what revision is all about.
You've got the bones of your story, and now it's time to put up the wiring, stuff the walls with insulation, nail on the sheetrock...you get the idea.
