I didn't get time to finish the last chapter + denouement last night. Instead, I was revising chapter 5 for my online writing group. I spent 3 hours doing just one chapter...oy. By contrast, doing 'just' a read-aloud pass of chapter 35 and 36 took only two hours. Now, granted, chapter 5 is a big one. It's 6800 words (help me, I can't stop). It could probably be broken into two chapters. It probably even should, except it would break the structure I created for this novel. (One chapter from Jacob's POV, one chapter from Jael's....I'm kicking myself for doing that, now that I'm editing.)
The night started out so well. Me in my Throne of Writing(tm). I vanquished 'looked', an old foe of mine. I cut 'felt' down to size and made it fit more comfortably. Then I looked at 'was' and I despaired. I used 'was' a LOT in this novel and this chapter in particular.
I racked my brain for hours, trying to rephrase dozens of sentences so they didn't use 'was'. It was hard. (see, there's another one!) Just about all of my short, simple sentences used 'was'.
I tamed, it, I think. There were a few sentences where no other word fit. Just so you know, if any of you ever end up reading Angel Odyssey and you get to chapter 5 and you find a 'was'...then you know that particular 'was' kicked my ass.
So, that's the next part of my education I'm going to tackle. How to beat 'was'. If anyone has any books or online resources I should try, please email me or leave a comment. (Strunk and White didn't help)
Thanks.
Tonight is IM gaming night but tomorrow I'll be finishing the second draft novel. I promise.
The night started out so well. Me in my Throne of Writing(tm). I vanquished 'looked', an old foe of mine. I cut 'felt' down to size and made it fit more comfortably. Then I looked at 'was' and I despaired. I used 'was' a LOT in this novel and this chapter in particular.
I racked my brain for hours, trying to rephrase dozens of sentences so they didn't use 'was'. It was hard. (see, there's another one!) Just about all of my short, simple sentences used 'was'.
I tamed, it, I think. There were a few sentences where no other word fit. Just so you know, if any of you ever end up reading Angel Odyssey and you get to chapter 5 and you find a 'was'...then you know that particular 'was' kicked my ass.
So, that's the next part of my education I'm going to tackle. How to beat 'was'. If anyone has any books or online resources I should try, please email me or leave a comment. (Strunk and White didn't help)
Thanks.
Tonight is IM gaming night but tomorrow I'll be finishing the second draft novel. I promise.
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