First Step

Today I’ll finish my edits on First Step, the sequel to First. I’ve rearranged some things based on the suggestions from Grok and firmed up other minor points that seemed reasonable. I ignored several of the items Grok pointed out, not because the AI was in error, but because I thought my way was better. That’s incredibly vague, you say. Fair point. Let me give an example. One of the characters thinks it’s funny to use an avatar when communicating with others, and Grok said that didn’t work in some of the later, serious scenes. I disagree. That’s part of the storyline and character, and to me it’d be out of character for him not to use an avatar. So I kept it in. There were other things Grok listed in the developmental edit feedback that made sense, such as how one of the characters survives. Yeah, it would’ve stretched belief if I’d left it as originally written, so the change ended up being a good one. That’s also one of those nagging thoughts you have about a manuscript but can’t quite put your finger on. Overall, I’m pleased with how this one turned out after so many false starts. It’s proof that you just have to keep writing and at some point inspiration strikes or things coalesce into a coherent story. Maybe I’ll write more on that in another post.