My goals for my editing session yesterday were twofold. I wanted to move forward, obviously, but I also needed to go back to the previous chapters and add more description. Thus, I went back to the beginning and began re-reading those first chapters.
This did not turn out to be productive. Upon closer examination, there actually weren't that many scenes that begged for more description. Sometimes I think that adding description just for its own sake amounts to over-trying. Unless it can be added naturally, meaning in a non-distractful way, it can be irritating to the reader. Every building, every interior, doesn't need to be laid out like a blueprint.
Maybe without being cognizant of it, I have added description, but only in bits and pieces. For example, the bar in which Leah works as a server is not diagrammed. "Upon entering the club for the first time, I glanced to my right and noticed the bar's shiny veneered surface and the sparkle of liquor bottles arrayed on a glass shelf behind it." Well, that pretty much describes every bar everywhere. I just find that silly. But in the course of her work shift, Leah mentions little details that coincide with whatever is happening in the scene. She looks up at the scrolling neon display to find out which band is booked for the following weekend. The Miller Lite clock on the wall informs her that three hours have gone by in a flash. She backs up against the wall fan and flaps her arms like a hummingbird to whisk away her perspiration. We know the dance floor is quite small, because the couples that are dancing tend to bump into one another. Et cetera. I don't think a reader needs to be taken on a guided tour akin to a real estate agent holding an open house.
On the other hand, when Leah first arrives at an unfamiliar place (unlike a bar), there are things she immediately notices about it. She's never been inside a recording studio before, and it's fascinating to her, especially since that's always been her dream. It turns out it's not at all what she imagined. So, I did add some description to that scene, but only minimal detail. The important part is what's going on inside the studio, not its floor plan.
As long as description can be added naturally, I'm great with it, but I'm not James Michener. I managed to slog through chapters about Colorado's flora and fauna and...amoeba...in Centennial, waiting to get to the "good parts". I still never managed to finish the book, though.
So, while the exercise of going back to the beginning was semi-useful, what it managed to do was halt my forward progress. While I did fix a couple of clunky sentences and substitute a few more appropriate words, I was more entranced by how well the manuscript was written. Truly, my writing is great, if I do say so myself. (And who else is going to say it?)
Thus, I mostly just re-read the first eighteen or nineteen chapters. (I may need to rethink my chapter breakdowns, because at this point I'll have a hundred of them.)
When I did manage to paste a new chapter into my document, I got stuck on characterizing the as yet-unrealized love interest. Do I describe what he looks like? I always find that wonky. Every reader doesn't require a complete physical breakdown of every character. I never even mentioned that Leah has blonde curly hair until about two thirds of the way through the story. What's the difference? And I find it difficult to depict a normal-looking person. If they have an obvious defect or something, like a pronounced limp, fine. But know how many different characters inhabit this novel? Yes, great, Burt is bald; Enright has a white streak in his black hair. Leah's cousin Caleb is a bit paunchy. Obviously, I need to research character description, because Leah's new love interest is just a guy. Yet he plays an important role in the story, so maybe he needs to be portrayed better. Even her first love interest has red hair and a red beard.
Even worse, I haven't given him many lines. We know he practices Stoicism (yes, weird, but original!) but that's very little to go on. I see what she eventually sees in him, but will anyone else? At the point where I left off, he was just kind of "there"; a part of Leah's traveling band, just like the other two guys. At least one of them is sleepy and the other one is a braggart. Maybe I should take inspiration from The Seven Dwarfs ~ Sleepy, Dopey, and...?
It'll be a few days at least before I can claim another editing session, and I hope by then I'll be more focused. There is so much more to go, I don't want to think about it.
I do think I have something this time around, though. That's a nice feeling.
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