The editing of Dragonhoard is coming along. Not fantastic, not terrible; just sorta...there. It's an odd experience in that, I am preparing to try to sell this piece of writing to the public. That is somewhat daunting and overwhelming since, in the past, my biggest audience has been my family, teachers, and a group of twenty-some writers, teachers, musicians, and artists (called Ekphrasis) who gather to peer-review each others' work.
That being said, I have given Dragonhoard to several friends to read and asked that they give me their honest opinions, recommendations, and desires for it as readers. I have had feedback from a few friends about it, but one in particular was especially helpful.
This past Tuesday, I went to AM's house, not quite sure what to expect. She is well-read and especially enjoys fantasy, fairy tales, and fairy tale retellings. Dragonhoard is a retelling of the classic Beauty & the Beast story, which has always been my favorite fairy tale. Considering that AM was almost over-qualified to peer-review my novel, I was nervous about how drastic her suggestions would be.
To my amazement and excitement, AM had compiled a document for me as she read Dragonhoard. After each chapter, she wrote down her immediate thoughts, questions, and typos she had found. She gave me a printed copy of this document (titled First Read), and we went though it, chapter by chapter, discussing pros and cons of everything she had noted.
Many of her initial questions were answered later in the book, and some of her comments were encouraging and insightful (i.e. first impressions of characters, guessing at where the plot was going). AM's questions were also insightful, letting me know where I needed to give my audience more detail or hash out a conflict that was going on. As we discussed her thoughts, AM was able to ask me questions which helped me to hash out plot points that NEED to be changed. :) Then, at the very bottom of the wonderful First Read paper, AM had listed problems within the plot that were never resolved, how long it took her to read the entire first draft, and a summary of her overall experience.
Needless to say, I was incredibly overwhelmed with gratitude at the time and effort AM had taken to give me the most helpful feedback she could. Her First Read is going to be an incredible help to me as I continue the process of editing Dragonhoard, and I can only thank God that I have such wonderful friends.
Till next week, then, friends.
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