The End

I submitted a manuscript for review by my new critique group, then held my breath as I sat in the hot seat and listened to every comment. I was heartened by their kind praise of my tween novel, SEASHELL SECRETS, calling it a well written and powerful novel. This initial review helped soften the challenging suggestions that followed, suggestions they believed would make the story better. Of course, this is why they're there, and it's why I'm thrilled to be a part the group. Since the review, I've immersed myself in revisions. It's interesting how an easy suggestion can turn into hours and hours of work. Several of the members felt that a key scene in my manuscript needed to come earlier in the book and become the first turning point. I know they're right, but it's like one of the writers remarked, "pulling on one thread sometimes unravels the whole sweater." It actually hasn't been quite that bad, but close. In the early chapters, I had a number of scenes leading up to that key scene. After the change, I found myself referring to people who the protagonist hadn't yet met, or talking about something that hadn't yet happened. But I've almost completed those revisions and am feeling better about the book.

Then there's the other BIG thing...the ending. Endings can be tricky. In the "old" days, most books, especially children's books, had happy endings, sometimes too perfect. Now, the emphasis is on making the ending realistic, while still infusing a sense of hope and showing that the protagonist has changed and grown. I like my current ending, but can it be better? Possibly, and that's what I'm working on. My critique group offered several scenarios, all of which carry merit, a few which would require a considerable amount of rewriting. One thing is for sure, I will carefully consider all of them, even if it means going through the exercise of rewriting the final scenes, before settling on the ending to my story. We always want to believe that what we've written is as good as it could possibly be, but that's why we have critique groups, to keep us honest. And after my first critique, I have no doubt that my new group will keep me honest.