I finished the first draft of my current project. Now it’s time to revise. Often, when I learn new things about my story, I go back to previous scenes to make changes, but sometimes the needed changes are too extensive. I make notes about those for use in my first revision pass.
Here are seven of the items I will review to see if I should work them into the story. Some of them probably aren’t needed and won’t be used.
1) The dragon economy uses delayed reciprocity and social ties as the means of exchange. Obligations to Kedekitley exceed Kedekitley’s obligations to others. Therefore, Kedekitley is affluent and prosperous.
2) Kedekitley is good at math and designing structures. Other dragons say he is a genius, although he disputes that. Early in his career, though, he made a math mistake that resulted in a structure collapse. Now everyone keeps reminding him of it, but in an admiring way because they say having only made one mistake is proof he is a genius.
3) Early in the story, Kedekitley mentions Xenkerdecley had spoken to him. Late in the story, he visits with him. In that scene, I realized Xenkerdecley is Kedekitley’s mentor and the dragon Kedekitley most admires. The magic and thrill I felt at that moment is what keeps me writing. I definitely want Xenkerdecley’s importance to Kedekitley to be shown in the story.
4) Kedekitley has no enemies except the Dragon Council (who prohibit interacting with humans), Cultists (humans who want to murder Naia because they claim she is a beast), Travis (who wants to restart the Dragon War), and Viren (who leads the kidnapping of Kedekitley’s human friend).
5) Dragons use aromatic (camphor-like) plants to keep insects out of their nests.
6) Kedekitley picks up Sten’s habit of saying “Oh, bother,” when things go wrong.
7) Dragons have more technology than I originally envisioned. After all, they are descended from spacefaring dragons who came to this world to have a more agrarian life, but they didn’t abandon everything technological.
So much work yet to do. So much fun yet to experience.
