Accountability & Editing

I’m writing this post to hold myself accountable. My debut novel, DEERSTALKER, is undergoing a round of edits that I am responsible for. My first round of feedback from the editor has given me more reasons to research my setting as well as expand on the plot and character development. Between work and school, I’ve had some difficulty finding time to dedicate to these edits, which is holding up the publishing process. I’ve asked some friends to be my “accountability buddies” who encourage and motivate me to finish up these edits so I can continue onward with my dream of being a published author.

These edits have helped me look back at the story and characters I have spent so many years with, and after various workshops to finish the novel, I still have some ways to go. This is all good, I just wish I was able to dedicate more of my time to this. So this is partly an accountability checkup for myself to motivate me to finish these edits so my book can be in the hands of readers sooner than later.

Part of the research involves looking into the medical and scientific advancements of the time and place of the story. I’ve learned a lot about what kind of medicines were used in the 1600s of Europe and what scientists knew about the human body. Another part of the research involves the Thirty Years’ War, chiefly being the Catholics versus Protestants, and how to bring that conflict into the story without overshadowing the main plot. It’s been fun and enlightening to learn about these things and dive more into the history!

I’ve also been working on building out the characters by creating believable people within this time period, expanding on their backgrounds and story of how they fit in to the main scenario, and developing their personalities and how they interact with each other. Overall, it’s been a fruitful process. Here’s to finishing these edits and moving forward with the publishing process!