Tag: the law of the demon king

Changing the List

Laura Highcove

Last weekend I went to Otakon with my husband and two of our friends. One of these friends I will refer to as ‘The Cheerleader’ and they drove up with us. The Cheerleader has been beta reading for me since LotPC because …well they’re good at stories and good at encouragement. Anyway, we all ended up talking about LotDK for a good portion of the trip up. I had lined up questions to ask my Hubby and the Cheerleader and I got a lot of good answers.

Not only that, but I was able to just talk about my story and hear what other people thought about it, which is very valuable. I know how the story goes in my head, and it’s interesting to see if that’s translating properly, and if it’s not, where the disconnect is and why. And even, if sometimes the way someone else takes it is even better. Or if I get to be all superior in thinking that my ideas are better and I can’t wait until they get to read it. Mwahaha!

As such, once I got back I was able to finish writing up my List of Revisions for LotDK, which after a few passes turned into a chapter by chapter list. I also managed to make a schedule for how many chapters I need to get done per week in order to be done by November (for Nanowrimo). I start out with four chapters per week and eventually end up at two a week. Obviously because the later chapters are far messier and will need much more help.

I have already started, and so far things are going well. I do anticipate problems, but every bit I get done is still done, even if Wildrose and Gabir continue to give me problems. I feel like a lot more things are starting to come together though, and that’s good. And I’m still enjoying the story, which is also good.

Making A List

Laura Highcove

And I’ve checked it more than twice. I’ve been over it at least three or four times and there’s more to go as I sort through things. My time sheet has been getting a lot of ‘organize’ time, but I’m feeling like I’m making some progress at least. All those little things I ‘put off until later’ as well as the big issues that I would ‘figure out later’ are all coming due.

Some of the little problems will likely only take a few lines to fix, and I’ve already fixed some of them, but the larger issues often either span a large part of the novel, or I haven’t figured out how to fix them, or both. But this is the point of the revision process where everything starts coming together one way or another. Hopefully with my only being reduced to tears of ‘this will never work’ a few times.

Can’t give you a lot of detail, obviously, without spoilers, but I did realize I’ve been describing my Laws and magic backward the entire time, which will require some fixing, and I’m still rough on both Gabir and Wildrose’s motivations throughout the book. Good times.

I should have more information, and maybe even more of a timeline, in my next update in two week’s time. Also remember my newsletter will be going out next week, so look forward to another Chapter 1. This one takes place in space, but is still fantasy.

Hiatus is Over

Laura Highcove

My hiatus is now over, as by the time you’re reading this, the Show Team is back from the National Appaloosa Championships and Youth World Show. Because of the extra hours I put in to make up as assistant manager while the manager was gone, I took the past two and a half weeks off from writing, and let myself play lots of Disgaea 5. But now it’s time to shift back into work mode. First thing on the list is to start reading the comments from my wonderful beta readers for the Law of the Demon King. Looking forward to the inside I get there, as well as regaining some of my motivation for working on that story.

There will be a few days of reading comments during which time comes one of my favorite parts of revision, making the list of edits! Even though this list ends up being extremely long, especially at first, it always encourages it because it’s tangible. Lists also help me organize the story in my mind since I’m looking at the whole thing at once, instead of piece by piece. I even color code the list items based on how much work I estimate it will take, which usually determines in which order I will tackle each item. In addition, my beta readers are both coming to Otakon with me this year, which will afford us more talking and brainstorming time. Mwahahaha!

Once I have a list, I’ll be able to estimate my timeline a little better. I’d like to get through with this book by the end of the year, but right now I have no idea if that’s feasible, or way too easy. And who knows, maybe I’ll get some more done on the Wizard in between bursts of revision.