A couple people have asked some excellent questions about the book. In particular, someone recently asked if it was reality based or had elements of fantasy. It's a great question because when I started the thing oh-so-long ago I intended that it would have elements of "magic realism" where ordinary objects and ordinary situations would become extraordinary. So for example, the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has a car become covered with butterflies and the butterflies carry the car away. However, in redrafting I've decided against that style, at least on the scale where the butterflies carry the cars away. Interestingly, I think you can still see elements in the plot and other "narrative devices" like the locations, characters and other general choices, (that you will have to figure out if you ever read it), that were intended to house a metaphor. That's not to say that I've removed all symbols but I've toned them down from where they once were...'course, that's probably like a drag queen wearing her Sunday dress instead of her gown.
In the original draft I also spent a lot more time on character development. I have close to 30 pages of back story which is 29 more then I ever intend to reveal in the new draft. I mean the thing read like a series of Lost episodes. However, the writing for the characters who were the subject of the aforementioned sitcom treatment is actually really a pleasure because I have at least a rough sense of how they should sound, what motivates them etc.
There are 6 chapters planned and I'm aiming for something in the neighbourhood of 200 pages. I'm not Tolstoy here and I'm not being paid by the word. I have some time this weekend. Chapter 1 is about two plot developments and 10 pages to complete. I hope to be on Chapter 2 by the end of next week.
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