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What creative projects have you been working on?
This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.
Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.
If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.
I received feedback from my second alpha reader for my manuscript/draft. Assuming I can finish my side/practice thing (which somehow has exploded to 60k), I'll get start on Draft 2 this weekend.
I was a little disappointed by the first reader's feedback. While there was good feedback I can incorporate, it was very micro and limited. The second reader's feedback is far more substantial. They pointed out some higher level areas to make changes, what worked/didn't, and things that felt not great.
I was most surprised by some of the feedback I didn't receive. I expected to hear very strongly that my opening was too weak. While the first reader pointed out one, especially slow, segment in the second chapter, the second reader seemed to enjoy the character depth that the pace allowed. I have one character I was worried is fairly trite in terms of representation (LGBT) but they were well received, the only major feedback from my second reader (who is LGBT themselves) was a lack of closure for the character at the end of the book.
I was actually feeling pretty confident with the direction I wanted to take Draft 2 before now. I was thinking I'd do a focus on plot, cut the scenes and themes that aren't relevant to it, and take a step back from the strict narrative structure I have in place. That would allow me to bring the first action-heavy chapter closer to the beginning and really eliminate everything that isn't the story. The cost would be some degree of world-building and character exploration. Now I'm considering if I should instead do a micro-level pass where I buckle down on superfluous scenes and wordiness, as well as incorporating the specific items of feedback, but without those larger changes.
This weekend I expect I'll read the feedback more thoroughly and then re-read my draft before deciding. It's been over a month since I finished it, so I'm hopeful I'm far enough removed now to really take a scalpel to it.