ROW80:Light at the end of the tunnel

Well, it is time for a check-in, and while it doesn't feel like I have gotten much done, I am sure it is the opposite.

My goal for this round is to get the final revisions finished on my novel Highway to Hell, and start the second book in the series.

The novel is complete, and I have gone through several rounds of editing which have left me very satisfied as to the tightness of the plot and the initial journey the characters take, not to mention the relationships (Not all sexual) seem to have arisen between them. None of these relationships were in my mind as I wrote the first draft, but rather seemed to appear in the pages as I read it through. I think we will all agree that these are the best fiction relationships, as we have not had to force them together because we think they would have great imaginary kids together.

The remaining changes are only minor, and are upon the advisement of my editor Nick Ambrose at Everything Indie.

The book is rather long at 105,000 words, and as I spend time at the start introducing the 6 main characters, he felt that the 'second round' of introductions; their initial descent into the chambers of hell was too long. Not badly written but rather a bit too descriptive and gore filled. He suggested that to keep the reader's attention I would be better to cut some words from each characters 'chamber' to keep the reader interested, to stop things from getting repetitive and also to keep things creepy. I understand what he means, as I can lean towards being rather wordy and overly descriptive at times. Yet I know the main appeal of books to me is that freedom of imagining how the heroes, villains and towns look.

There are six characters, and I show the reader what happens to five of them in their judging chambers. We have already met each character once, as they died. So having introduced their lives in a basic overview, I used the chambers of Hell to introduce their pasts, who they were on a much broader scale. This initially caused some discussions with my editor, as it seems for the first part that the novel is just about torture scenes with random characters. Once I clarified that these introductory torture scenes are the only ones in the book, and merely my chosen way of introduction things all fell into place.

My current task is to cut around 2000 words from each characters time in Hell. To shorten it and keep the action flowing and hold the reader's attention so that once the real plot of the series is introduced, the readers are still interested in what is in store.

In other first novel related issues, my cover art is complete. My brother-in-law has created it for me. He is a graphic designer by trade and offered his services. I jumped at this chance of course, and am delighted with the result. I would love to upload an image, but it is a pdf and I am struggling to convert it to an uploadable file. (Watch this space)

My plans and plot outline for the second novel are also coming together nicely. I have obviously been building towards this novel since the beginning. I would be foolish therefore not to have any idea about what will happen.

I have outlined the relationships I saw develop and have listed several ideas on how I would like them all to pan out. Giving myself some freedom once again and escaping the problem of forcing relationships. I also have an idea of what will happen. There will be a branching of the story, as is set-up in book 1. This will become more pronounced and I am busy planning how these two 'fractions' (I use fraction rather than faction due to their split being accidental – and unavoidable – rather than dissentient) will eventually come back together again. Although I think that will be in book three. I have a point in my plot which is set down to be one of the 'challenges' which must be overcome, but I now think that this will become the climax and set-up for the third (and currently final) installment.

Regardless, while I leave my brain to percolate this and all the other possibilities that I know lie in wait, I have to finish Highway first. I don't see these revisions taking my too long. I have missed the initial holiday rush in terms of sales anyway, but that doesn't bother me.

Thanks for reading, and I wish you luck on your ROW80 adventure.