Plot

I'm wrecking my first Matho story. I have a safe copy tucked away, and currently I'm going to town on the experimental copy. Chapter One has been discarded. I loved it, worked for hours on it, but no one else ever loved it as I did, so now it has gone. The scenes that made up the original chapters 2-4 are getting the treatment now.

At least one scene has been discarded. The fragment of necessary info it contained has been transferred into another scene. I'm juggling the scenes around seeking a better story flow, and giving  the protagonist Matho greater prominence. Some scenes I'm re-writing, others just need a few tweaks. In at least two places I found a basic mistake - in one  instance mentioning something and then contradicting it. In the second, I realised the time sequence was so flawed my characters would be eating raw meat!

It's an interesting experience, critiquing my own work. I've read that top novelists cut and hone each scene to make sure each has all the necessary elements - pace, conflict, tension and suspense - and I thought I'd already done that, but this latest exercise is proving I was wrong. I only wish I'd realised this sooner!