Innocent Dreams: Author Update, October 2021

🥳 Done, but not finished

I have exciting news to share this month. After two long years, I finally finished my “Batman” rewrite!

As I’ve discussed in my series Beyond the Book, I started working on this rewrite in the fall of 2019 after selecting The Dark Knight as the masterwork or template for my story. Since then, I’ve worked hard to incorporate thematic elements from this film, and other Batman stories, into my novel. I’ve had to rework almost every scene in the book to fit this new arc. Even though this process took a lot longer than I had anticipated, I’m thrilled with the result. I now have a story that “works” and a nearly completed manuscript.

While it’s hard to put into words what hitting this milestone means to me, I think more than anything what, I feel, is relief. Relief that my book, while not finished, is close enough to being done that someone can read it and understand what I am trying to say. One of my biggest fears since the start of the Pandemic was getting sick and having this project drag on for years, or worse yet, not being able to finish it at all. Now that this rewrite is complete, I can breathe a little easier.

As exciting as this development is, I know there is still a good deal of work left to do before I can call the book finished. I still have to review the entire manuscript, make continuity edits, and then figure out how to publish it. While I can’t say when my book will be “on shelves,” physical or otherwise, I feel that the most challenging work is behind me, and whatever is left is quite manageable.

👨🏽‍💻 The Month Ahead

Starting this week, I will begin to analyze my book scene by scene and create a list of continuity edits. This review process, while tedious, is vital to making the story feel cohesive. I anticipate most of the changes will be minor, such as adding a line or two of dialogue or better setting up a plot point. Once I have a list of changes, I will begin working through them one by one.

I’m aiming to be done with these edits and have a completed manuscript by Thanksgiving, at which point I will start sharing it with friends, family, and early readers. If you want to be one of the first to read it, I will have more details on how you can do that next month. Until then, stay well.

Sincerely,
Nelson/Roberto