Category: Full Sail

Continuing the discussion on the rewrites for Full Sail and what is working and what is most definitely not.

By the time I was editing chapters twelve and thirteen, I knew I had to stop and regroup. The entire feel of the book was off. And most importantly, I had lost TJ’s voice around chapter five.

TJ’s voice is complex and filled with self-deprecation, humor, self-doubt and defiance. Sharp edges and deep emotions. And somehow, I had flattened out all her fun curves.

The only way I knew to find her again was to go back to the beginning. And the beginning was Run Aground. I queued up the audiobook and began to rediscover my muse.

When I can manage to write again, I think she is back strong, in all her depth and complexity. I suspect, as I return to the process, she’ll bring me comfort as we complete our journey together.

I wrote this on social media this week: “I feel like I have hammered and honed chapter two into a lovely opening to act 1.” No matter how I might gripe about the process, rewrites are actually very satisfying. Watching a story come sharply into focus is thrilling.

As I mentioned last week, Full Sail, the third book in the TJ Wilde Trilogy, needs some major rewrites. The problems were glaring by the time I hit chapters twelve and thirteen.

This week, nothing has gone as planned. My dad is in the hospital, soon to move to rehab for a few weeks. Nick left us unexpectedly. My recovery has been longer than I would like, mostly with lots of sleeping.

One of my favorite Getty Center Sculptures

It’s been a week of slowly healing and getting back in the swing of things. Work to catch up on, a lot of sleeping (amazing how tired you can get after a relatively short/simple surgery) and of course, editing.