She shuffled her remains to the bed.

Yargh. That sent a chill straight through me. I'ma go hide under bed now. Seriously. (Then again, I'm a big wimp.)

Excellent!

One of these days I'll have to write something longer than 100 words. If I can. You all are inspiring me to try.

Because we were discussing "Roxanne" over in the music thread and I'm sitting here feeling all wistful and big with the self-pity that the book's been pushed off next summer's schedule. One of my favorite scenes I've ever written. If only so I can see it in print, as it were, somewhere

"Soledad, you ready?"

While Raj backed away with a whispered, "Break a leg," I ventured further out onto the floor, assuming my opening pose.

Okay, yeah, it had been tempting to choose something from Carmen, in a d'uh, sort of way. Or, if I wanted to stay within the realm of classical ballet but still show off my strengths, Firebird, especially since it was polished to a diamond shine for the showcase.

But the last couple of days, weighing the pros and cons of everything I had in my repertoire, I'd kept coming back to this—"El Tango de Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge—as being perfect. Dangerous, raw, sexy, angry, and above all, passionate—building from a deceptively quiet and mysterious introduction. Only way to make it better would be chocolate.

I began by prowling the expanse of the floor in a rough figure eight, my footwork echoing the sharp staccato precision of the strings, my upper body taut as a wire. However, my arms remained fluid and sinuous, accompanying the vocals in telling the story of a professional seductress, paid for her favors, forced by circumstance to hold herself aloof until she meets the one man who's so different, who wants her solely for who she is and who desperately tries to convince her she no longer has to sell herself. Then, as the song continued to grow in intensity, matching the narrator's growing passion and fury, that fluidity worked its way down my fingers, through my arms, into my body and legs, the precise, deliberate movements evolving into something more; something untamed and wild, as I became that woman, veering between the security of a wealthy customer and the temptation of unconditional love.

During one quiet passage, I skirted the edges of the floor, meeting all those eyes, weighing… deciding… finally extending a hand and pulling a smiling Raj—my chosen customer—up. Taking the cue, he fell into step with me, the two of us swaying together, perfectly matched for a few brief moments until the music crescendoed once again and I pushed him away, bursting free, covering the floor in a huge sweeping series of turning leaps. Soaring, feeling the familiar, glorious stretch and burn of my legs in full extension, lost in the beauty of the music, in the story, building toward that one moment—where the strings, the brass, the vocals all joined together in a brilliant cacophony, prompting one last series of rapid-fire steps and jumps before I began spinning on one leg, turning in a fouetté en tournant, my free leg whipping around and around, faster and faster, never touching the ground until the last, final crashing note where I dropped to both knees, head thrown back, both arms thrust up and out, imploring my lover to return.

My eyes closed, the only thing I heard was the sound of my own harsh breathing, whistling through my throat and nose.

Whoosh, Barb. Powerful, it gave me shivers.

Beautiful piece of writng, Barb.

That's gorgeous, Barb. You're so good at writing music and motion.

Thanks, guys-- that's one of the scenes that has undergone very little revision since the first draft. It simply flowed and all clicked together in one shot.

And Susan, it does seem to happen more easily when I'm writing about movement/music.

So. Barring unforeseen life issues, I'm going to finish the WIP first draft this month. Which means it's time to think rewrite--NOT my natural gift. And I know I'm going to be making significant changes. Like adding and subtracting subplots changes. So I'm trying to figure out an organized approach to the rewrites. I've had enough chaos on this story. For the sequel I'm even considering outlining FIRST.

Anyway, does this sound like a reasonable approach?

- Finish rough draft
- Take at least a week off, but no more than two
- FIRST PASS: Don't make changes, but do make notes. Note down all items that still need research. Note continuity glitches, put everything down on a calendar/timeline. Create an outline of what's there.
- STUFF I PROBABLY SHOULD'VE DONE BEFORE STARTING BOOK: Rework outline to show what SHOULD be there, noting scenes to add and delete. Make character arc notes for all major characters. Hero's Journey for protagonist should drive outline and his character arc (because Christopher Vogler's writing books make more sense to me than anyone else's).
- REWRITE: Cut unneeded scenes, add additional ones.
- CHARACTER READ: Read each POV character's scenes in sequence for voice, consistency, and character arcs.
- POLISH: Print manuscript, edit for style, technique, and flow.
- BETA: Self-explanatory. Take another break and let other people have a look.
- FINAL TWEAK: One final pass, incorporating beta feedback.

That's a lot, but I've always under-edited in the past, and I don't want to make that mistake again, especially given the complexity of my plot. I've finally gotten over thinking I'm God's gift to the written word and don't NEED to edit much, and I love this story so damn much that I don't want to send it out till it's the best I can make it.

Does that plan make sense to others who've written novel-length?

Though I've only written novel-length fiction of the fan variety, I strongly suggest that you send a beta copy of the first draft out before you start any serious reworking. Maybe call it an alpha release.

Don't touch it when it's in first review. Don't think about it. Set it in a drawer, work on something else. When you get a response back, before you read the response, re-read the thing and take notes. Then, I guess, follow the rest of the plan.

(For me, it's always been more useful to send what I know is rough out rather than what I know is polished. It reduces the churn if in all my revising, I've missed something HUGE.)

Well, the only thing is, there are some big changes I know for sure I want to make. I'm just waiting till I finish the first draft because I'm so close to the end that it would drive me crazy to go back NOW. Some of what's there now doesn't even really make sense, apart from notes in Act III telling myself what to adjust in Acts I and II so the ending will work. It's by far the messiest manuscript I've ever produced, because I've been teaching myself to plot in a new genre as I go along.

Maybe I'd let the CP Who Gets It read the whole thing in its current state, but NSM anyone else.