I’ve got feedback from some of my beta readers on the first act of my work in progress. The good news is that I can write and the narrative holds together. That’s what I really wanted to check. Other nice things were:
- The characters are well painted. You know what Perry is like, what she wants, and what she struggles with.
- A distinct writing voice shines through – my writer’s voice. Best feedback ever. I’m so pleased.
- The ‘bones’ of the writing is solid i.e. it has structure and isn’t an amorphous ball of writerly nothing.
Clearly it’s not a work of rare genius and plenty of suggestions for improvement were made:
- Pacing is too slow. This is a difficult one as it is in a meditation studio and ienvitably the characters spend a lot of time sitting still. But all the beta readers said it, so I have to take it seriously.
- The opening scene is too static. Perry stands around thinking which is a classic newbie writerly mistake.
- Too much time spend in one location and feels claustrophobic
- There is too much drinking of herbal teas. I thought those scenes were wonderfully funny but no-one likes them. That’s a shame as there are lots more coffee and tea chats, and I think it forms a central part of the character development. One to ponder about.
Inevitably many changes are needed, and some will take significant structural change. It’s all good. I’m going to finish the third draft early and start the fourth – it’s going to be a big one.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
