Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

There has been a lot of thought going into the cutback, reconstruction rewrite of Dragon Wine. A lot of that has been fueled by my work in reading novel submissions for Angry Robot. Yes I’m coming out of the closet. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 4 months (well in two days). So I’ve read over 435 partial submissions and 20 full submissions with over 26 full submissions to go.

What an amazing experience it has been. There have been highs and there have been lows (the sheer size of the pile) and every little bit that I did that didn’t seem to make a dent in it. However, I have to say that reading for Angry Robot has been the best leg up I have ever had in writing (and editing). I am going to share that experience and what I’ve learned over a series of posts. Just letting you know…

As for the grand snip? Today was my writing day (only half taken up with family stuff). So not only was I advised to cut back…specifically ‘how they get there isn’t important. It’s what they do when they get there…and from another editor, removing some detail to let the characters develop.

And reading the submissions pile. OMG what a perspective.

I can now see these comments in a totally new light. What is missing? Tension! Engagement of character! Forward movement of the plot and not just saying ‘hey look around in my world. The wow factor…”

So today I implemented some of that insight into the early sections of Dragon Wine. I had already cut stuff out. Now I had to refocus the character. Salinda was always too comfortable, even though she lived in a prison and was surrounded by violence and misery. Now I made her more sensitive to the threats around her. I gave her the will to leave and the rationale too. This also saved me practically a whole chapter because I was also able to move things along faster. ( I thank a long shower for that insight). Then I found that a chapter that is really well written and I remember the thoughts and the feelings I had while writing it and what it all meant to the story–the feeling of riding a dragon, the thoughts of Brill while riding it, info dumping here and there. So I trimmed it. And then I woke up one day and said to Matthew. OMG! That chapter is totally not doing what is should be doing. It needs to be cut! Maybe completely.

Now I love this chapter. Cutting it hurts. But on the other hand it is not doing its job. Today I cut most of it and I’ve highlighted the rest of it as a possible delete when I am less emotionally attached to it. Now it is more wham, bam, there you go, let’s get with the party, rather than lets go swanning about looking at dragons and thinking.

Don’t get me wrong this chapter served its purpose when I was drafting. But it doesn’t belong in the final draft because it isn’t doing anything. It helped me feel out the character of Brill when I wrote it. It helped me think about dragons and the world. Now I know that stuff it’s bye bye.

If an editor is looking for tension, for intensity of character, for wow. He wasn’t going to find all that in my ms. He found a nice, rambly epic fantasy with potential. Not the polished, focussed, action packed, emotionally engaging novel he was looking for. Hard facts but you know I’m accepting it and using it to my advantage.

Next time Dragon Wine goes out there it is going to pack a punch and be a lean mean fighting machine.

Word count was originally 167,200, then 164, 158,  162,900.  Now 159,283. Still up to page 53 and more cutting to go.