My revisions are beginning to feel like an archaeological expedition. I posted a little about it here, about how my heroine seems to have gotten lost in this story.
Well, I think I found her. And it only took tossing out over 100 pages of manuscript — I think I kept maybe 30 out of the original 150+
So I think this can no longer be classified as revisions.
I think I can safely say that I’m writing this whole thing all over again, pretty much from scratch.
Ugh.
It seemed like a good idea at a time.
A story inspired by the Romanov assasinations, but with Fantasy elements. I figured that was the only way that any of them could have survived, as it seemed every day there was new “evidence” that none of them had escaped the execution. I could picture a princess scarred both inside and out, coming back to save her country…
Except somewhere along the way, as I began writing about her country’s revolution, and the arrest of her family, the princess got lost. Maybe 90% of those early chapters could not even be written from her point of view. She became a shallow, sometimes bratty princess who’s only purpose seemed to be to be upset at the way her life in the royal family restricted her.
Not at all an inspiring figure.
I started thinking today that most of what I’ve written so far isn’t all that important. That it’s only background stuff. That I need to throw it out. And yet… that’s over 150 manuscript pages. My stomach hurts just thinking about getting rid of it.
But I need to find my story. I need to find the heroine who inspired me to write the story in the first place. I think she’s still there in those later pages.
At least, I hope she is.
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