Cliff Hannan

This week, I had my first development edit meeting with my publisher since signing my contract. Anyone who knows me well will know that once a decision is made, I just want to dive straight in and get to work. So these last couple of weeks of waiting have been torture! But I can honestly say it was worth the wait.

Meagan and I spent a lot of time discussing one scene in particular. It’s short but absolutely critical as it acts as the catalyst that drives the entire story forward.

The problem? It’s incredibly violent and contains subject matter that a lot of people will find harrowing, and that could easily alienate some readers.

We discussed different options for toning it down. Sensible as that was, I still wasn’t entirely convinced that this fitted in with the story.  I had a nagging doubt that if I softened the graphic nature too much, the scene would lose its edge. More importantly, I was worried that the rest of the story might not make sense.

In the end though, I agreed to give it some thought and said I’d email over some ideas after the call.

The conversation moved on, but my mind was already racing with ways to reduce the horror without losing impact. Then a really exciting idea struck me: what if I incorporated the scene into a later chapter as a flashback? That way, the focus could shift from the events themselves to the characters’ emotions and reactions. Meagan loved it.

So, since the call, I’ve been mulling things over. Last night, my thoughts finally started to crystalize and I started slapping virtual sticky notes all over the chapter with my ideas.

My initial reluctance to edit the scene has now been replaced with an almost overwhelming desire to get to work. I really think that rather than weakening the story, this subtle tweak will actually elevate the tension and ultimately make the events even more shocking.

And now, it’s finally time to ‘dive in’ and get editing!