marfisk | Selkie Update...Nearing the End

I haven't had much to say about this edit. It is taking a lot of attention and I'm very busy with both this project and others, but really the reason is because there's not much to say. The edit is going smoothly. The only continuity problems I've found are minor and the order of scenes is tied close to only one timeline so I can't have the problems I had with Kyrnie. Honestly, the power in this story is the voice. If that works, I think the book will do well. If it does not, the story itself might not be enough to carry it, not that it isn't a powerful story, but it is not the story of a victory, or a rags to riches, or any of the traditions that people seem to flock to. It is a romance, but not a clean, pure romance. It's a mess of human error and fate intervening with flashes of happiness and joy in the most unexpected places.

Sigh. Yeah, you can probably tell I like the story. Have no idea if anyone else will :).

And to keep up the illusion of this edit as a learning exercise, some interesting/amusing elements I've discovered.

I came across a chapter with the boy and was surprised to see Huw uses saidisms. Now a couple leaked into the other characters and these I snipped right out, but I'm leaving Huw's usage. Why? Because it's perfect for his character of a young boy. A young boy never simply "says" anything :). He shouts, mumbles, grumbles, pouts, screams, or whatever, but the invisibility of the word "said" itself acts as if a boy's statements can be treated the same as any other. Anyone who has had a kid from 2-5 years of age would, I hope, agree with me that this is so not true. Ignore the emotion behind the statement at your own risk.

The second item of interest is just a momentary laugh. There are explicit moments in this book, not all of the encounters, but some. Still, I think I've taken the "fade to black" one step further than I'd ever have imagined with this next bit. Gwen's newly married and they live in a two-room house so the bedroom is shared by all of them. Okay, that might cause some squidges, but it's authentic :D. So anyway, this is in her father's POV.

The sounds he heard from beneath their covers showed she had little complaint there either.

How's that for a fade to black? ;)

And stats:
New Words: 16567 words (Yep. Very busy day.)
37 Chapters complete - 77% of the novel
12 Chapters remain
27905 Remaining word count
91286 Current Total

I'm working from a 25k weekly goal, which I complete in 2-3 days, leaving the rest of the week to my other goals. I may just allow myself a little extra considering just 28k would take me to the end :).

Oh, and the overall word count is holding steady. I had just over 300 words cut at one point, then had to add 400 words to fix a plot issue. Right now I'm running at negative 133 words, but who knows by the end. It certainly isn't going to transform into a 110k or lower novel. On the other hand, maybe it won't creep over 120k either :).