Editing...

Hi all! I'm busy editing a story. I've spent two solid days reworking word usage and sentence structure to get rid of my over used words. I'm on page 30. That's right, 15 pages a day. Uggggg! I write first drafts MUCH faster, could be why I have to edit so much??

Anyway, there are some serious weak spots in my story. The hero, a highly trained professional, makes a mistake that a rookie wouldn't make. It hasn't set well with me since I wrote it and it really doesn't fit. I have to be more creative and come up with another scenario.

Another problem is the plot is a bit thin. My list of suspects is thin, only one or two and they become suspects rather out of the blue. I'm going to add a few more suspects including the heroine. I'm also going to have them more of a build up to being suspects. It's a great change that will make the story a bit longer and since it's on the shorter side, so longer is good as long as it improves the story.

I figured out what was wrong with it while I was at my MERWA meeting on Saturday. The guest speaker was fabulous. She has done many things in her life not the least of which is write nine books for Harlequin Intrigue. She was wonderful to listen to and made some really good points about writing suspense.

Thanks Joyce!

Here is her website.
Joyce Sullivan