In between prolonged bouts of procrastination and abject pessimism, I’ve been working on my next round of Downtown edits.  I’m finding there’s actually a lot to like.  I’m enjoying the book again, enjoying tormenting and hanging out with my characters.  Working on a scene the other night, I realised that the tone of my book has changed a lot since its original inception–it’s a lot lighter now, a lot more hopeful in tone, and is certainly not as bleak as was my original vision.  So whilst editing that scene, I found myself rewriting the background of one of my characters to better fit the person he’s become in the novel through my edits and the reimagining and revisioning of the novel’s themes and mood.  I think he’s a more balanced character as a result, and I think the book is definitely evening out.

I’ve started on the next novel (set in the same world), but I’m fighting with a few other projects that keep asking to be looked at, as well.  I’m tempted to do something vastly different, a sort of literary palate cleanser.