Shadow Kiss: Wait. You’re not done with me yet! Have you not seen my list of things to change in me?
Me: I’m aware of the list. You may note that the graphic only claims to have completed the ROUGH DRAFT, not to have completed the novel. Also, if you examine yourself, you’ll see I already started on the Act 1 alterations.
Act 1: Actually… All you did was rewrite the opening scene. Poorly. What the rot is up with all of this backstory you stuck in there?
Me: It’s too slow. I realized that even while I was writing it. What I was doing was exploring that history so I can cut all those paragraphs but reference the events in them later.
Act 1: You wrote it to cut it? That makes zero sense, Andy. But, whatever. You do you, girl.
Me: It made sense to me. Also, it helped me see that I started in the wrong place. It wasn’t just all the added backstory that’s the problem, but all the rumination. I’ll be rewriting Ch 1, Scene 1 again today. In a way that is not only more active but which lets me cut Ch 1, Scene 2 and replace it with something snappier.
Act 1: So you’re ripping me to pieces? I thought you were just removing the fourth POV.
Me: I have two weeks before my beta readers’ deadline. I could in theory completely rewrite you from scratch in that time.
Shadow Kiss: The other acts have asked me to point out that any significant alterations to Act 1 will impact them. Two weeks is not enough time to rewrite all of me.
Me: It isn’t. I’m not anticipating any changes THAT big, though.
Shadow Kiss: Doesn’t mean you won’t make them.
Me: True. But I’ll decide when I’ve gotten through Act 1 if it’s better to keep going and postpone the next revision of Snow Kiss or to hop over to it. Depending on the feedback from my remaining betas, I could wind up changing something there that could mean I have to rewrite vast swaths of you anyway. If I’m going to do that, I’ll definitely pop back to do it before messing with the rest of you.
Shadow Kiss: I guess that’s fair. But please get Act 1 redone. I feel itchy knowing changes are coming but not what they are.
Me: On it!