Midnight Slog

Posted Sun, 01/04/09

It took me the better part of yesterday, but by midnight I finished editing book seven (The Twilight) of Collective Obsessions. It was a difficult part of the story because I killed off one of the main characters, much beloved by his fellow fictional counterparts despite some ugly facts that came to light after his death. The Twilight only contains 131 pages, which may sound paltry, but when one has to scrutinize each line and the flow of the story the work can seem to stretch on interminably.

I'm ever-watchful for inconsistencies, such as locations, physical characteristics, nick names and other generalities. For a series of eight books the size of Collective Obsessions, the task becomes magnified. I created spreadsheets for every book in the saga, which has helped tremendously, but there is still the inevitable line-by-line read and edit that takes up a great deal of time. By the time I finished last night, my head ached and my eyes were bloodshot but I was well satisfied with the results.

Even though I save my work to CD, I still have the habit of e-mailing myself each section of the book as I finish it. I never open the e-mail, but there it will sit in my inbox in case the unthinkable horror of an irreversible computer crash occurs.

Better to be safe than very, very sorry.

Tags: Collective Obsessions