A Masochist at Heart

I submitted another exercise to the Evil Editor blog. This time it was the first few paragraphs of Flames of Hatred. If it is used, I will once again be chagrined. (I say 'chagrined' instead of 'humiliated' because I'm sick of being humiliated.)

This opening is the latest revised opening. After four weeks of floundering to pick what to keep and what to toss in order to reduce the book's word length from 198,000-words to 100,000 and still keep the story, comprehension began to take hold of me. It came - at least in part - because I have been reading what Evil Editor and his Minions have been saying to other authors. Learning from the mistakes of others is far less humiliating than learning from one's own. The original opening was about 240-words. I was able to drop it to 180+. I'm only on Chapter Three and I've already dropped over 5,000 words using some simple techniques provided by the Minions. Regretfully, part of the word reduction is also due to my eliminating any mention of a certain character and the sub-plot associated with him. I'm concerned about this as this character is intended to become a significant character some time after Book Three. It could be that book doesn't get written. It certainly won't if there is no Book One.

I'm hoping my submission will be used. Not because I enjoy people making fun of what I wrote (although that can be amusing), but because I am hoping that with the comical continuation the Minions will comment on what I wrote. Was it more stupid and comical than the continuation? Did it provoke any feelings? Sometimes the Minions give such feedback, and sometimes the writing is so uninspiring the Minions only notice the continuation. That would be a worst case scenario.