Basting

Elizabeth Lyon’s book, Manuscript Makeover, is like a favorite cookbook. It will help you make something decent with the ingredients you have on hand, and if you want more of a gourmet meal, you’ve got shopping lists and easy-to- understand directions for new techniques.

I absolutely love editing. Adding, removing. Creating, completing. There’s a basic domesticity to it.

Today I realized I needed to remove the five section headers in my book. They just aren’t needed anymore. Taking them out made me think of removing the basting stitches in a sewing project, something you can only do when you’re confident your work will hold together on its own.

There’s still a LOT of work to do on the novel, much of which is like the other type of basting, the careful pouring on of broth to make sure meat stays moist.  Because editing is so much fun, I have to be careful not to overdo it. Opening the oven door too much makes the cooking time longer and also leads, quite often, to something dry.

Next week:

1) Write some new scenes.

2) Baste them into the draft.