Revisions continue of course. I've run through all of chapter 9 and added a new scene to chapter 8. This is a brand new scene for the novel, something that wasn't in any previous version so couldn't be "resurrected." In fact, this scene couldn't even be "kneaded" into a current scene like the one I resurrected earlier, because this is a total POV shift from any of the characters I've used in the book so far. My editor wanted me to have a few POV scenes from this one character much earlier on in the book, to signify how important this character becomes in the second half of the book as early as possible.
So, while reading chapter 8, when the character first appears, I was looking for where I could either break a current scene and jump to the new POV character OR where the already written scenes broke naturally and fit the new POV scene in there. The problem is . . . I'm a fairly tight writer. Meaning that if you look at any of my previous books, my scenes aren't short (meaning I try to write them in such a way that there's a transition from one new action to another if possible, not a break) and even the breaks are designed so that the final sentence of one scene before a break often
leads into the first sentence of the new scene after the break. So inserting a new scene in anywhere interrupts the flow no matter where I try to put it, at an existing break or not. Inserting a brand new scene from a new POV isn't that easy.
But in chapter 8 I found an existing break that would work. It kind of interrupts the flow, but the new scene needed to be short because it's the first time we see these two characters from their POV. So a brief introduction to them. The idea was to essentially say "Hi!" and to point out that these are two different cultures meeting for the first time, so you should get the idea that their cultures are different and get a sense of the new culture (since the one we've seen is analagous to ours in most respects).
So, I wrote the scene, plopped it into place, revised the new scene, went on to more revisions of existing scenes in chapter 9, went back to the new scene and reread it, made more changes, added in a few new things, went back to chapter 9 and looked for places to add in additional scenes from this new POV, went back to the new scene and added in a few new thing, decided those new things were overload (trying to do too much in a short scene) and took them back out, then declared the new scene finished.
So here it is, the new scene.
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“Why are you helping them? They obviously don’t want to listen, like the last group.”
Aeren didn’t turn to his Protector, kept his eyes on the strange group of brown-skinned people as they made their way back to their wagons and cookfires. The one called Walter was already speaking to the group’s leader, Tom, arguing with him. He found their language harsh, their names strange . . . but intriguing. Their beasts called horses--so large, so powerful--frightened him, their clothes coarsely woven and cut, and their customs savage, without proper form and structure, but still. . . .
“I’m helping them because they do not understand.”
“You are helping them because you are curious. They are primitives, wandering into a land they know nothing about. We should leave them to the dwarren.”
Aeren turned to his Protector then, frowning at Eraeth’s scowl. “This is not your Trial,” he said defensively, even though he knew the Protector was partially correct: he was curious. He’d approached Colin because they’d appeared the same age. And because Colin did not carry a weapon.
“No, it is not. But I am your Protector. I--and the Phalanx--are here to protect you. From the dangers of the plains, from the risks of the Trial . . . from yourself.”
Aeren stiffened, his shoulders straightening in indignation. “I am not the child my father assigned you to protect twenty years ago!” The words came out harsher than he intended, petulant and not fitting for the son of a House Lord, even a second son. He saw the instant disapproval in Eraeth’s eyes, in the lips pressed tight together.
He turned away from that look, caught his breath and held it to calm himself, then said, “This is my Trial, Eraeth. Are you now an acolyte, part of the mystical Order? Who are you to say that they,” he nodded toward where the strangers were preparing their wagons for travel, “are not part of the Trial? Do you know Aielan’s will?”
Eraeth stepped forward, so that Aeren could see him out of the corner of his eye. “No, I do not know Aielan’s will, but I fail to see how they could be part of your Trial. You have, in essence, already passed. You’ve faced the dangers of the plains and the dwarren. You have seen the Confluence, have drunk the rose-tinged waters, have gathered your proof.”
“But I have not yet returned home.”
“All the more reason to leave these strangers to the dwarren. This is not our land. This has nothing to do with the Alvritshai.”
“Not now,” Aeren agreed, “but they continue to appear on the plains. Eventually, they will head northward. We should learn as much about them as we can.”
Eraeth merely grunted, although it was tainted with grudging agreement.
They remained silent for a long moment, the air between them tense, shouts from the strange group rising from the hollow where they’d taken refuge for the night. Eraeth had been his Protector for twenty years, had taught him the nuances of being a member of a House, had trained him in the art of the sword, the bow--all of the arts of the Phalanx guard.
But everything would change now, with his passage through the Trial. He would no longer be Eraeth’s student; he would be a full member of the House, the Protector’s master.
And neither of them had figured out exactly what that meant yet.
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And even on the reread during this post I changed a few things. So obviously the revision process is still ongoing even for the new scenes.
In any case, I need to add a few more scenes today from Aeren's POV. I've already marked two potential spots in chapter 9 and will look at those first. I'd also like to get chapter 10 finished, although it will likely only get a read-through of the existing scenes with appropriate changes made to those, and marks for where new scenes could be added.
However, my partner has the day off. I may not even get to that.
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