Finding my core.

When I finished the first draft of The Silagree, I read this post by the all-knowing Maggie Stievfvater. Then I quickly wrote the following on a pink post-it and stuck it to my desk: Find out what the core of your novel is. Be willing to change everything but that.

It was exactly what I needed to hear.

The thing is, The Silagree isn't my first ms or even my first foray into the pits of editing hell. If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may be aware of the fact that The Silagree is the 10th ms I've completed (by which I mean a first draft). With all this history, I really want to get this one right.

This caused a bit of a dilemma for me.

You see, on completion of the first draft, I prepared myself for the ensuing pain. I was--I am--determined to make this story right and I knew this would take a lot of work. I suspected I might need to pull the story apart and put it back together. Several times. I knew I'd need a lot of feedback and advice from betas/CPs.

I knew this, yet I worried.

I was worried about taking the editing too far. I was worried that I'd break it irretrievably. I wasn't sure how much was too much. But then I read Maggie's post and all was well.

All I needed to do was find out what the core of my story was. I could change everything but that one precious element. The only problem was, I didn't know what my core was. I mean, I know what my story is about. I know what the central conflict is.

I didn't know my core.

So I thought about it. Then I thought some more. And then some more. Then it hit me.

It was a total shock.

In case you are not aware, The Silagree is a dark, weird story, so I assumed the core would consist of similar elements. Boy was I wrong. Even though my 'inspirations' file contains images such as this:

And this:

...the core of my story was more like this:

And this:

My weird, twisted story actually had quite a sweet core, something I wasn't aware of until it dawned on me.

With this new awareness, I prepared to launch into edits. I took my core into consideration and made changes to the plot that supported these elements. As I trudge through edits, I keep the core of my story in the back of my mind.

The plot of the story might change, but the core will remain the same.