Higher Level

I’ve been taking a look at First Step from a higher level view. I’ve done a few things to tighten the story, add depth to the characters, and so on. Now I’m trying to step back and look at the plot and pacing from an elevated view. What does that mean? It means I want to treat it like a movie, where I’m assessing each scene (chapter), making sure it moves the plot forward, isn’t repetitive, and has an impact. One of the things I’ve mentioned before, I think, is that originally I wanted Eve’s journey on the raft to be similar to the one in Laura Hildebrand’s outstanding Unbroken. I quickly found out that while her narrative was compelling and never boring, adapting that scenario to a book was definitely boring, especially when shoehorning it into a bigger story. In an earlier draft, Eve floated alone on the ocean and that became a story adrift. With the next draft, I added in the company of her AI, which gave Eve someone to talk to other than herself. Better. Now I’m taking another look and intend to do some of the things I mentioned above. I’d thought the book was in shape and ready to publish, but coming back to it after several months certainly gives me the chance to make it better.