Finally, actual progress
A note on my writing process.
I’ve reached page 60 of my manuscript, and have just begun writing the portion about the riot. If I really pushed myself I could reach 100 pages by the end of the month, but in actuality I’ll probably only reach 80.
And that’s fine.
It’s taken me a lot of work to get this far, and there’s still a long way to go. I still have to finish the riot portion, write about the aftermath, the trial of James Sharp and his imprisonment, his release and his death.
Not only that, I have to rewrite the first 40-some pages. Again.
That’s because I’ve decided — at this point, anyway — to tell the story in the present tense. I’ve done this with a few of my essays (Go back and read them!), but nothing that would constitute a full book.
It feels like a good idea so far, but that can always change.
And then, of course, I’ll have to revise the manuscript a few times after I complete the rough draft. If any of my books are readable — a debatable point, to be sure — it’s because of my revising process, which is to look at what I’ve written, make a million changes, look at the changes, make a million more changes, and do that again. I can go anywhere between three to five passes, maybe more.
If I have the time, I’ll post the first page of one of my books along with the first page of every other draft, just to give you an idea of how much I do revise.
Until then, cheers.