Editing: Daniel and the Wine Stain
It had been almost a year since I completed the previous draft. I looked at this story again and did two or three rounds of editing, which reduced its length by 1,093 words.
I still feel that perhaps the story is too long and that some sections could be shortened. But this does depend on what audience I imagine for it. In some formats, this “full length” version is appropriate, but in other formats, it might be appropriate to shorten the story. Anyhow, whatever reservations I had about previous drafts, I am currently pleased with this new version. I think the edits have made it even more powerful (now that I’m not being so “lazy” with my editing”).
Below is a list of all the versions I’ve published on this site:
A file with all the edits between the second and final drafts marked.
13 November 2010
Having thought a bit more about this, I think I got the impression the story was too long because of the long sections of narrative, particularly when we change viewpoint and see Wendy's story. But I think the most powerful element of this story is gained in the juxtaposition of the two main viewpoints, Daniel's and Wendy's; and the only way to gain this effect is to portray one side and then the other, as I've done here. So, the structure is not perhaps as appealing as it could be (it is easier to read a story told from a single character's point of view, and depicted rather than largely told in narrative), but with the structure I've used here, when the reader gets to the ending sections, the overall effect is much more powerful than if I'd used a "more immediately appealing" format. So, all things considered, the format of this story was dictated by the content, and it needed to be told in the way it was.
16 November 2010
© Copyright Fletcher Kovich 2011