Cliff Hannan

I’m not quite sure what the phrase is, but I’m up to my knees/elbows/neck/armpits? (insert whichever word you like best) in the developmental edits of The Hive Codex. I thought I was nearly done with the heavy lifting until I received the latest feedback from my Publisher last week. The email was worryingly long, but surprisingly, when we discussed the list together in person, we rattled through the items in double quick time. And more importantly came to mutually agreeable solutions (again).

The Killing of Brother Oltan

I’ve never had a publisher before, but I don’t think I could wish for a better one. Meagan is so considerate of the story and allows me 100% artistic control over it. She simply highlights areas that need to be refined, tightened up or changed completely but I’m always allowed to do things in my own way. We bounce ideas around and have always come up with a solution that suits both of us. I trust her implicitly and know that all of her suggestions are to improve the story and make it as good as possible. So I’d be an absolute idiot not to take her suggestions on board, and Mama didn’t raise no fools!

Back to the list of edits.

I asked Should I include a prologue? The response was a definite No! The story is so exciting that I want you to emerge the reader into the thick of the action immediately. Plus I don’t like prologues.

Could you write in a new character to allow you to crop a good two or three chapters in one of the storylines? I knew this wasn’t what the narrative needed. We chatted a bit and agreed that once the unneeded sections were removed a couple of additional tweaks to the original characters were all that would be necessary to fully maximize the story arc of one of the protagonists.

There were a couple of, not quite loose ends and certainly nothing as big as a plot hole, that we have now been able to tie up and fill in so that you would never know there had ever been anything missing in the first place! If you can spot them, I’ll happily sign your copy! 😉

Over 500 years ago, Michelangelo said something like ‘David was always trapped within the block of stone. All I had to do was remove the unnecessary bits to reveal him’.

Now, I know exactly what he meant! Every edit, rewrite and new version of The Hive Codex is just taking away what isn’t necessary and brings me one step closer to revealing my own masterpiece!

#TheHiveCodex #amediting #masterpiece #Michelangelo #Mamadidntraisenofools #onestepcloser