Taking a step back

I have been so caught up in Judith’s head, it’s time to take a step back and try to look at what I’ve written objectively.

Strengths   

·         Dialogue – BUT I need to check for differentiation. Would you know who was speaking just by their words or way of talking?

·         Storyline – generally strong and fast-paced

·         Pace – I feel I have got this right – everything is relevant to the story and moves it on

·         Structure and outline – I am very pleased with the way I planned it all out and know where I am going with it

Weaknesses

·         Characterisation – Judith is fine but I’m not sure that all the other people are well-enough defined

·         One anomaly about Judith – why is she like she is with her family? I think I know but need to give it a stronger basis to her actions with them

·         In the Hexham side of the story I need to show things from other people’s point of view more

·         Interest – I live in mortal fear of being boring. I don’t think it is boring, but maybe some bits are rushed where they could be slowed down and still be interesting

Padding or detail?

I am finding it difficult to write about the next stage because I am pondering on what to do with the storyline. More areas for research have come up but I can’t blog about them without giving away key aspects of the plot. Suffice to say I need to talk to a police officer or a solicitor for some clarification.

On 15^th November 2010 the Carlisle part of the story was moving along well. If I write an equivalent amount for the Hexham part I am going to end up with 81,000 words, about 10,000 short of what I am aiming for. It will be ok. As soon as I get into dialogue it all flows out so it may just be a case of going back to add more scenes, and conversations into existing ones.

The Hexham chapters can be longer anyway. Because they are written in the third person, I can add more about what other people are thinking and saying, especially about Judith.

My journal also says, ‘I wrote a death scene today and made myself cry.’