Editing Madman

In a mad rush to use the few hours of solitude I had while I traveled to the other side of the country, I nearly completed the second edit of Priest of Chaos for #ShadowGodsSeries. Yet, within a day of returning to my home, I finished the task. This may be the fasted edit I've been privy too, but I wasn't quite finished. After another hour of spell check and review, I think it's ready for my first outside reading.

Now that it's done, I've moved back to Mage of Chaos and begun another review of that book with the edits I've received. So far, they're not too bad. However, I've looked ahead and know they get worse. Nevertheless, this is my choice work, my life long endeavor, and my legacy. Though I know they can never be perfect, I want them to be clean and precise. I don't want my future readers to be distracted by small errors that could be otherwise corrected. This is a daunting task I put before me. Thankfully, I love the story and am not bored with it yet even though I've read it a half dozen times.

Next is Warrior of Chaos. In that book, the blood bath begins and I can't wait to begin editing it. In a way, Mage sets the stage, Priest introduces all the parties, and Warrior starts the real war. Yet, it is a war that covers multiple fronts with multiple parties either going against each other or forming alliances. Whether those treaties remain is another story and only one god really understands the outcome of it all. Still, this is just the third book of nine, so nothing is as it seems at this point.

Then there is Opal, the next and last book in the #StoneVengeanceSeries. I've been stuck on this book for months, but I finally had a breakthrough moment last week. I didn't write anything in the novel yet, but I have an idea of where to move the story to next. Now I just need to find the time, motivation, and correct mindset to make it happen.

Reflective Interactions

As a writer, I believe in conversation. In fact, it was the driving force in my #StoneVengeanceSeries of books: Jeremiah, Limbus, Azazel, Hades, Beginnings, and The Ferryman. I used it as a tool to convey a character's personality, their logic, and their feelings. Then came Burden of Immortality. In that book, I switched to the other extreme by going into the main characters thought process, but it was different in another way also. Burden of Immortality was written in first person and that changes things, more than I initially thought. After that came A Romance Novel. In A Romance Novel, which is about an author writing a romance novel, I let his written words provide an in depth look at who he is. Again, this style presented a different scope into viewing the main character. Since I've written people in three different manors, I see the value of each.

But now I'm editing my #ShadowGodsSeries; my pride and joy. Though I starting writing these books 30+ years ago, I truly enjoy how I've written each of the characters. They are unique, focused in different ways, and have personalities all their own. Furthermore, I explore more than just one main character since I have multiple story lines going on at the same time. However, even with this head-hopping, I focus on specific characters, their words, their thoughts, and their feelings. In a way, as I read and edit the books, I see myself as every character within the room and wish I could describe each of their views within the story. Alas, I had to settle on just a few and those few change from book to book.

Now that I've moved from the first book of the series, Mage of Chaos, to the second, Priest of Chaos, I'm beginning to really enjoy the mix of styles. I don't just use conversation or writing or internalization as a way of describing the characters, but all three. In a way, it presents a fuller picture of who the characters truly are. And it shows as I move from chapter to chapter. This is not to say I'm going back and re-writing my previous novels, but rather that my initial foray into writing a book so long ago was actually my best work. I felt it was (because I really love the series as a whole), but now I'm confirming it. However, without writing all those other books, I never would've realized this.

I guess reflection is good.

My Writing Voice

I love writing. I mean I really love it. I may not be good at it, but it drives me. It allows me to express myself in dozens of ways. I can become a character. I can direct a situation toward my goals. I can control the outcome and every facet of it both before and after its occurence. It makes me invincible. It makes me a god.

Yet, it also makes me vulnerable.

Writing exposes the soul. It's personal. It opens up your hopes and fears for someone else to view them. It allows people to see a part of you that you might want to keep hidden. It provides people, people you don't even know, a view of your inner self. It's frightening because it shows everyone a piece of your heart.

But will I stop writing? NEVER!!!

Writing is who I am, what I am, and what I wish to become. It pushes me from one day to the next in a manner nothing else can. It is the one part of me I willingly share with everyone willing to listen, yet I hope no one pays close enough attention to discover my secrets. It is my dream, my heart, and my soul. It is me.

I only say this because I'm editing a section of Priest of Chaos I truly love. It's about a man in turmoil, driven by forces outside his control, but still in touch with what's happening around him enough to know that he doesn't like what he's doing. In a way, this is my life; many of our lives. We fight. We struggle. We want more, want better, but we succumb to our existence. We survive just as he's doing. We wish we could change it, change the world, but we know one voice hardly makes a difference.

What each of us has to remember is that change usually starts with just one voice. Tomorrow, make that voice yours.

#ShadowGodsSeries