Writing Wednesday: Shifting to Revise
I almost left the f out of shift in that title(and almost did it again). Maybe my fingers are trying to tell me something. Ok, not really. Actually it’s going fairly well so far. Monday I compiled notes for three chapters of Stained by Ashes, Tuesday I finished one more(which caught me up to what I have back), highlighted sections in Healing the Heart that need to be cut/rewritten, edited the first 2 chapters of Stained by Ashes. Today, so far I’ve edited almost 2 chapter of Stained by Ashes and did some research into 1880s ladies’ hats. I have another hour of editing time for today, so hoping to finish this chapter and maybe even the next one(since I’m bouncing between this post & editing – I’m now into that next chapter). I’ve also added words to Protecting the Heart, Shed Some Light, and Closing Time. And I’ve made progress on plotting Defending the Heart(sequel to Protecting the Heart).
But, first, it’s time for WiPPet Wednesday! I’m sharing for possibly the last time(at least for a while) from Shed Some Light. Today’s math: 8+3-2+0+1+6 = 16 paragraphs. For those who read last week’s snippet, here’s more about Tereza’s promise, with the person she made it to.
She looked down at her hands, twisting them together. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
“Sorry for what, Tereza? Have you done something wrong?”
His voice sounded benign enough, but she wasn’t fooled. He knew exactly what she meant. “I broke my promise to you.”
“What promise would that be? As far as I remember, you’ve always held true to anything you’ve given your word on.”
She searched his face, but he didn’t look upset. “I slept with him. You have to realize that. We…we were together. That’s why he was the one who called you.”
“Yes, even though you told him not to. I know.”
“I promised you I wouldn’t be with him again.”
Roman let out a rough laugh. “You were fifteen,” he said. “I knew you two had been together, but he never should have touched you.”
“I initiated our relationship back then. It’s not like he took advantage of an innocent girl.”
“I don’t care. He was an adult at the time.” He sighed. “But, I also knew he cared about you. Neither of you were in the place for that kind of relationship, though. You were fifteen,” he said again. “You needed to finish school, and I saw how smart you were, almost as soon as you moved in with us. I wanted you to do something with your life. And I knew he could too, once he got himself straightened out.”
“I know. And we’d wreck each other. I already feel wrecked, and we only spent a couple days together.”
“You’ve been through a lot recently. But, Carlos is a different person than he was back then. He’s a good man, one that deserves a good woman like you. You can’t think I’d hold you to a promise you made twenty years ago. You’re a grown woman now. I can’t dictate who you have a relationship with. I just wanted to make sure you got through high school and possibly college without losing yourself in a bad relationship. And it would have been bad back then.”
“I know,” she said, even though it felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. “But, it’s good now. Or at least it was. He gets me, and I don’t feel like I have to hide any of myself with him because he knows. But, he’s upset with me now, and I’m not quite sure what I did.”
“He’s scared. Right now, he’s terrified. He’s losing his brother and likely thinks he’ll lose you too. Maybe try showing him that won’t happen.”
“What if I’m scared, too?”
He smiled at her, though it looked a little wistful. “Then, maybe it’s time you two held on to each other.”
A lot of history here, but basically: Something bad happened(which also involved Carlos) and Tereza was in a dangerous situation at her foster home, Roman and his wife ended up taking her in then adopting her. Roman also helped Carlos out of most of the trouble stemming from that bad thing, and then ended up helping him get a job and later open his own restaurant. So, they both feel they owe him a lot. Honestly, I didn’t expect Roman to play more than a very, VERY minor role. Yeah, that hasn’t happened. 😉 And I just realized she contradicts herself in this snippet, but this is very rough draft-y, so this may change.
As for my progress this week:
- Write: 5000 words – I’m at 2794 words so far.
- Protecting the Heart – 726 words
- Shed Some Light – 1019 words – and let’s just say I’ve pretty much wrecked Carlos for the moment
- Closing Time – 1049 words – and I’m so loving these two at the moment.
Stained by Ashes – compile beta notes through Chapter 16(more if I get them back) – As I said above, I got caught up on this, and now I’m partway through editing Chapter 5. I’ve added about 8 words.- Healing the Heart(if I hear back from my CP) – highlighted spots that need cut/rewritten
- Guarding the Heart – layer in World Building details – haven’t got to this yet. if I get through the first two editing projects, I’ll move on to this.
- Defending the Heart
– Finish brainstorming,write Xavier’s back story - Dance with the Devil – add 820 words – 544 words. And Hawk and Devil are just…killing me. So much.
- Snow White Twist – add 990 words – 630 words – somehow I wrote exactly 315 words two days in a row.
- Come Back Down – finish polishing – weekend project
- Read: Writing Vivid Characters – 25% – 12% through this. Need to do the assignment at the end of chapter 1.
- Listen:
Fatal Affair(Marie Force)&The Night Circus(Erin Morgenstern)– I finished Fatal Affair yesterday. Liked it for the most part, though I had a few issues. Added the next book to my wishlist. Started listening to The Night Circus, but…it just wasn’t doing anything for me. Not sure if it was the narrator or the style of the book. But, I decided to set it aside(might pick it back up if I run out of other books to listen to) and stared A Court of Mist and Fury(Sarah J Maas). Enjoying this much more(though I have a few things to say about the one character, but don’t want to spoil anything). - Read:
You’re It(Leigh Ann Kopans), Never Never(Brianna Shrum),Dangerous and Unseemly(K.B. Owen), Beyond What is Given(Rebecca Yarros), One Last Song(S.K. Falls), & Eight Naughty Nights(Eliza Madison) – Finished You’re It(enjoyed) and Never Never(liked okay), and am a little more than halfway through Dangerous and Unseemly.
Not bad for the first half of the week.
