No Friday Snippet or zombies this week — I’ve been deep in Revision Xibalba, otherwise known as Revision Hell.
Okay, not hell, not really. Because it’s not been as bad as I feared, not at all. Of course I’m just now getting to the last 26 pages where I think I need the most work, but the rest was pretty good.
I don’t want to jinx myself but I really love this story. There are parts that I have no memory of writing, and I’m shocked, surprised, and thrilled that I wrote it, because it’s so good. Then I think, wait a minute, I’m not supposed to think that. Am I?
But it is. There’s just something sparkling and intense about these characters. Maybe it’s the first person narrative. Maybe it’s Tecun Uman the great national hero himself. But the way this story came together is magical.
And the humor. *chuckles* It’s not blatant slapstick sort of humor, but there are several nods to some of my favorite things, including a joke at my expense. Remember some of The Bloodgate Guardian discussions I had with Alissa about Ruin?
Ruin? Honestly, that was the jaguar guy’s name? I looked up at Tecun’s face, but he didn’t seem perturbed by such a strange name. I suppose that was easier to pronounce than Itzpapalotl.
“Or Kukulkan,” he whispered silently in my head. “One of his true names is Xbalanque.”
Okay, then, Ruin it was.
(Yes, both Ruin and Jaid make a brief appearance as the Gatekeepers of Chi’Ch’ul.)
Natalie (the heroine’s best friend) came out way more interesting than I expected too. So interesting that I can’t leave her hanging like I am in this first draft. Fixing her story thread will be one of the harder threads I need to resolve in these last few pages, but very important. She deserves better than what I originally gave her.
And the sex. *wipes brow* Whew. I joked to Raelyn the other day that one scene just went on and on and eventually I’d gotten tired in the first draft and simply left the scene because I didn’t know if they were ever going to finish.
Much different than The Bloodgate Guardian, I know. Ruin and Jaid just weren’t going to get together any quicker, no matter how much I wanted them to. They had a completely different story to tell. However, Cassie and Tecun were burning up the page before I even started the first draft. The Maya elements and research are still there, but whoa is this a sexy story!
Now, I’ve reached the pyramid scene, the culmination of everything that’s happened between Cassie and Tecun up to this point. This is the scene that generated the ENTIRE story. Everything came from the sacrifice at the top of El Castillo.
Um, literally. *winks*
Let’s hope I can pull it off.
Of course I know you’ll pull it off and I can’t wait to read it!
Raelyn, I hope you’re right!! This last 1/4 is going to be tricky.
Sounds exciting– both the work and the result! 😀 How long have you been revising it? Are these your revisions or an editor’s notes? And do you have a sense of how long it will take you?
Lianna, this story isn’t contracted/submitted yet. I’m taking the first (semi-fast) draft and polishing it so I can submit it ASAP. I’m guessing I’ll have the first revision pass done this weekend. Depending on how I feel about it, I’ll send it out to my willing victims by Monday. Depending on what THEY think, I could be submitting in a couple of weeks (after I write the synopsis and blurb/query).
I wrote this story a few months ago, and I started the revision around the first of the month I believe.
Actually, I think I started these revisions on Monday this week — because I had to finish up Vicki edits for my Samhain editor and get them returned by 8/15. So wow, not even a week yet!
I love, love, LOVE when that happens! When you go back and read something and are like, “There’s no way I could have written that! It’s too good to be mine!”
I can’t wait to see how you work this, Sis. You have such a gift for magic. Your plots do tend to come together like the ingredients for a particularly potent spell. I think you are, indeed, a witch, but only the best kind, of course.
yay for Ruin and Jaid!!:)