The revision letter I have for the first 4 chapters of Eternal Nights isn't bad at all. Mostly tightening stuff up or clarification. I was talking with my editor on Friday when she mentioned one of the things she thought I should get rid of. I explained why it was there. She gave her point of view, and it was like a light bulb illuminated.
This is one of the reasons why I love working with an editor. I think writers tend to see things from one perspective and can't see the forest for the trees. A good editor, though, sees this stuff and points it out. After she explained her reasoning to me, I was like, yeah. And it's a little embarrassing that I couldn't see it for myself.
The scene in question serves two purposes. It sets up the ticking clock in the book--this is pivotal--and it lets the hero find the heroine, which is also vital to the story. It just seemed so abrupt to end the scene after both goals were accomplished, and I added another brief topic of discussion.
My editor's point was that conversation is unnecessary to the story, and she was 100% right. I mentioned my not wanting the conversation to end so abruptly and she said, why wouldn't Wyatt end it abruptly? He wants to find his woman. I could have slapped my forehead and said, duh! She was exactly right. Wyatt would be in a rush to find Kendall and since the discussion is with this Chief, the man isn't going to be offended or anything.
What makes it worse is that I couldn't see it even after she mentioned it was unneeded, not until she said the part about Wyatt wanting to find Kendall. Gah! I'm glad, though, that it clicked then. Sometimes it doesn't click for me until much later. That's even more embarrassing. :-/
There won't be any floor pictures coming any time soon. After putting it down, the installer covered pretty much every inch of it with cardboard and fastened it down. I can't complain about this since protecting the floor is key, but I wish I could have gotten a few shots. I'm worrying now that it might be too dark--maybe I should have gone with one of the boring oak colors the builder brought over first. The darn thing is that I won't know until I can look at the whole room, which means after everything is finished and cleaned. And this was one of the decisions I haven't been sweating over. Guess I should have been.
