let the revisions begin…

photo by Christophe.Finot distributed under CC-BY-SA 2.5

TitleBattle Scars: Men of the Cross
(book 1 of a series)

Revisions progress:  chapter 1

Back to the beginning. Yes, the editorial comments are in and guess what? No surprises here. My novel isn’t quite ready for prime time.

Battle Scars opens in Southampton in March 1190 where Sir Henry de Grey is one of hundreds of knights preparing to begin the journey to the Holy Land. Henry is pumped up, ready to fight alongside Richard the Lionheart. Oh, Henry, if you only knew…

A handful of my MOOC classmates in Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction, offered some nice critiques of the opening scene a few weeks ago; and I’d read it to some librarian friends early in the summer who were anxious to hear chapter 2. My editors also like the opening but…

Yes, there’s that “but.” One of the editors’ suggestions include adding a bit more of the historical background in the opening scene. She’s right, of course, but this can be a dangerous thing. 🙂 Writers must avoid the “info dump” and not go into history teacher mode. The background must blend in naturally. It’s a writing skill I’m working on!

So I’ve been revising chapter 1 for the last 5 days. I plan to read my revisions at writers group tonight. I’m sure it won’t be the last set of changes I make.

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Image credit: Part of Southampton’s town walls By Christophe.Finot – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1023633

  1. Kathryn Chastain Treat Avatar

    Best wishes on your revisions.

    1. Char Avatar

      Thank you! 🙂

  2. Matthew Harffy Avatar

    Good luck with the revisions!

    1. Char Avatar

      Thank you! 🙂

  3. jadey Avatar
    jadey

    Best of luck with all your revisions.

    1. Char Avatar

      Thank you! 🙂

  4. Nancy Anderson Avatar
    Nancy Anderson

    Can’t wait to read it!


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