Has editing my next release, The Dream, been an actual dream, or a borderline nightmare for me the past couple months?

Hmm… let’s see.

If you would like to recap on the previous Editing Diaries entries for The Dream, you can read them here:

• Editing Diaries: The Dream (Episode 1)
• Editing Diaries: The Dream (Episode 2)

Completing the Side Notes: June 2023

When I last left y’all in Episode 2 of Editing Diaries for the The Dream, I admitted that I would probably be procrastinating on implementing all the side notes I compiled from the April/May listen edit. And that, I did. 😛

I didn’t start on those until mid-June, and I feel like a slacker for doing so, because from what I have recorded in my planner, it only took a couple days to get through them. -_-

Fourth Read Through/Third Round of Edits — Read on Kindle: July 2023

In mid-July, I went back and read through The Dream on my Kindle and made more notes along the way, ranging from typos to big-picture things that need improving. I know some authors like to go back and pick specific areas to hone in on during edits, but I can’t seem to do that. Instead, I try to pick out All The Things that need fixing. XD

Current Mission: Go Through Notes on Fourth Read Through: July 2023

Over the first few read-throughs, I thought that the pacing was on-point and that I wouldn’t have to do much editing there. Upon this reread, I noticed that the pacing toward the end was struggling and that it would benefit from moving some scenes around. At the time I’m drafting this blog post (7/20), I’m writing down an outline that breaks down each chapter into the scenes included there and then writing a short summary of what happens in each scene. Once that’s completed, I’m going to plug the scenes back in to the Save the Cat! Writes a Novel outlining method and see if the scenes match the story beats. If I find that the scenes aren’t matching the story beats, I’ll either rearrange them to fit in a more impactful spot, or rewrite or delete them from the manuscript.

I also noticed that one character needs an epic attitude adjustment for the first half of the book. This character is normally a cinnamon roll, but I needed them to be, which I can only describe as “in a mood” for now to avoid spoilers, for a while as they’re going through some hard things. Upon this reread, I realized they were coming across as too hateful and that it was a stark contrast from their characterization earlier on in the series. So because of that, I’ve flagged several scenes where I plan to go back and tone down their dialogue so that every reader ever won’t hate their guts. XD

I’ve found that I have a tough time writing heated arguments and that it takes me several tries to get it right. Hopefully I’ll be able to nail it during this round of edits.

After I go through and make sure the outline is on point, and fix the character’s attitude problem, I plan to go through the smaller notes I made on my Kindle and implement those fixes. This will probably be the most difficult editing round of this project, so please pray for me as I start making changes soon. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re a reader, what are you most looking forward to reading about in The Dream?

If you’re a writer, are you currently writing or editing? How is your progress going?

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀