Rec the Thing

I'm working my way through the list of edits I prepared during the beta preps phase for the Cursed Witch. Currently smack bang in the middle of the structural changes. It was incredibly hard to get started and find a system for juggling that many changes, but I think I'm finding my feet. Scrivener's "floating Quick Reference" to have more than 2 window panes open has been invaluable... I have my general "Structural Edits" file open that way (including the notes, which is basically a more concise summary + some ideas on how to handle the changes, as there are a lot more details and brainstorming in the file itself). Then I have one or two scenes open in my main window as I move things around and think about the impact. Plus the notes and comments for each file.

I think there's probably only one change that is truly "structural" with cascading changes. The other ones I had listed are also chunky, but once I had decided "where" to make the change (like, move that scene to chapter X, or raise the stakes in preceding chapters X-Y) by the end of the beta preps, it feels like it'll be fine to handle later in the chapter-by-chapter edits.

I wasn't planning to wait this long to start making these changes. I was doodling with fic, working on my assignment and editing old fics from last year, wondering what I was waiting for. Then one morning, my brain went "It Is Time, My Self" and so I opened the Scrivener file, flailed for a bit, then slowly started to figure out a system for how to even handle structural changes at this late stage.

Once I got properly started, I had a hunch. I counted back the weeks on my calendar: 6 weeks, again. When something needs to bake, that seems to be the way. It makes me a bit nervous because I haven't been able to work on the Soul Thief while this is ongoing, but I think in the future it'll be easier to switch between projects while all that background simmering is going on. It's just that the Cursed Witch is my first novel-sized project and definitely a "learning experience." So my brain kind of resists working on another novel while I know there is still significant learning to be done from the Cursed Witch, that could and should also apply to the Soul Thief.

...I think. I mean, there will always be learning.

Meanwhile the story is changing, not unexpectedly. I'm not sure what I think as I look at the changes rippling through the story. One such change made me realise "this impacts the ending" and so that has changed a bit as well. I think this is all making the story better overall? But it's also no longer the story I initially told. The story seems stronger but also less cathartic for me. I still want to see this through. I need to see the final result to decide if I went too far with the changes.

In the end though, my initial motivator for writing this story was "Can I finish a long project?" which is not exactly a strong narrative theme so... maybe it's particularly okay for things to change in this story. And I like what the new changes are saying! I've said before, sometimes I worried a little bit about what the story was turning out to be saying in places. (That bit is still there 😂) The new bits are definitely more in alignment with the kind of stories I enjoy.

But it's still not what I originally wrote, and at the moment it feels jarring. My gut feeling is definitely that I should continue and push through regardless. There should be really interesting learning on the other side.