Met with The Eight readers ( numbers four and five ) last night and into the early morning about the book. Since one of the two is a die hard mystery fan, this went very well. They definitely got on board with my vision.
I can’t say enough how valuable it is to vet feedback from one reader off another and get real time comments. Stephen King makes a good case for a reader group for all his drafts. Having tried it, I’m sold on this technique; the more eyes, the better. Their contributions can not be overlooked.
For instance, a key character owned a pet with a specific personality, and one reader made a point that the character had no business owning an animal, much less a high strung one. Not only did the pet conflict with their character, the critter added zero to the story. Alas, the the pet was slated for file 13 – the trash.
When I mentioned this cut to the couple last night, they suggested assigning the same pet to another character and renaming it, plus a way for the animal to contribute texture. All made possible by various iterations of feedback.
Who loves The Eight, baby?
r u tryin to slide buddhapuss into ur book? hee hee hee how about some hounddog action? ;^P
Master Buddhapuss is very selective about his appearances, which explains his long hiatus. I don’t see him in this book, but perhaps another.
No comment on the hound dog action.
hound dog!!