Revision and Gideon the Ninth Ripping My Heart Out

 Hello friends! I am about a week into my revision and I wanted provide a brief update.

After I received my edit letter from my agent, I printed the entire manuscript with her comments via Office Max for $40 (sorry trees, I really can't do a deep dive on the screen 😓.) Then I spent 4-5 days reading it and making notes. I have a bit of an involved process including sticky notes, charts, and color coding which you can see me discuss here.

Then, I started going in and executing the revisions this past Monday. I'm on chapter 5 now, and things are going well. I had a few good breakthroughs around worldbuilding and some character relationships I needed to hash out. So far, nothing is going to be a major structural change but I'm definitely adding more depth and recasting some scenes that can be more effective.

Stray Kids "fighting" gif with fist pumps


I also bulldozed through Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Which, yes, I am aware. I am WAYYYY late to the party. But it was so good? The kind of SFF that also rips your heart out in the most enjoyable way?

book cover for Gideon the Ninth



As much as I want to jump into the next book, I'm leaving Harrow the Ninth for a post-revision treat, hah. Gideon's strength is definitely the voice. Of course, the plot was propulsive and I found myself constantly curious about what was going to happen next (and also frequently bamboozled because the execution of twists or pinch points was *chef's kiss*) However, it's Gideon's voice that makes a moody story such a delight to read. She was someone I wanted to root for, be friends with, and was simultaneously afraid of (or, afraid of how she'd stress me out next).

Sometimes I have trouble with plot in very immersive SFF worlds because an event can feel like "well this just had to happen to move the plot forward" but I couldn't place how it logically fit into the story unfolding. Gideon the Ninth did not have this problem. Events, no matter how bonkers, clearly tracked to a character's decision and/or motive.

I can see how some folks did not enjoy Gideon the Ninth. It perfectly caters to my reading habits: I LOVE knowing less while I read. Keep me in the dark. Give me details sparingly and let me piece things together over time. If this bothers you though, Gideon can definitely get a bit confusing especially when the multiple houses and their ambitions come into play. If you are interested, it is currently availably on Kindle Unlimited.

Anyhoo, I hope you all are doing well. Happy reading and writing!

Cheers
Hien
 

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