I’ve reached draft 2.5 of my new novel. The characters have taken over the dialogue, but their memory is lacking. Mine, too.
It’s helpful to have an alpha reader at this phase. It’s better to have more than one alpha reader. They’ll remember things. I’ve been reminded of:
- a character that was named, given a line to say, but then disappeared (I try not to give names to characters unless they play a semi-important part)
- a cat the main character was attached to that was absent in three chapters
- a couple of subplot holes that should be removed or repaired
- a change in spelling of a location
- a time discrepancy; only two days passed, but somehow a day was lost
Novels are complex. It’s impossible to remember every detail, even for the writer. There’s a good chance the reader won’t catch all the mistakes, but I’ve been warned that someone will and they’ll write it in your Amazon review.
Tie up the loose ends. Dot the Is. Cross the Ts. It will make drafts 3, 4, 5, and the rest less overwhelming. Try not to think about draft 6, when some of the improvements must be edited out completely.
