I've just begun the first edit of my longest novel, The Book Of Pain.
At a little over five hundred pages it's long for me at least and took quite a while to write. Yet by about page two hundred of the first edit, I've found something startling. My hero, as I recalled it, was forced to learn two languages in his quest to return home to England. The first was Latin, this being in the sixteenth century and all; and the second was portuguese. Yet on my first re-reading, that language has somehow, and strangely turned into spanish.
I just don't know how that happened. Admittedly I could only write a few pages per day and that was on my tablet at work before emailing it to myself then cutting and pasting it into the whole, so I didn't retain an overall view of the novel. I still can't, as much as I'd like to, spend the whole day at home writing, but it's taught me a lesson, and that is to take notes, or at least to re-read the earlier stuff as I write.
I'll fix it and everything will be well but I'm amazed at how I could let something so significant slip through, and wonder how many more mistakes I'll encounter along the way.
I've got menopause brain. Can't remember thirty seconds ago. I'll be so glad when I finally have an office and a large cork board to post notes on as I write.
ReplyDeleteHugs and chocolate,
Shelly
Whatever the male version of that is, also afflicts me.I already have a large cork board but every time I come home it's covered with photos of whichever rock star my daughter is utterly devoted to this week.
ReplyDeleteNothing like re-writes to make you find those lovely hidden mistakes.
ReplyDeleteExcept that there are so many. I often wonder if I wrote it in my sleep.
ReplyDelete