I just spent the last several hours revising three paragraphs of my novel. The task frustrated and mentally exhausted me, but the scene had the "reported" feel I discussed in my last post. I had to bring it to life.
After much agony and frequent visits to thesaurus.com, I finally closed my eyes and imagined the scene and the character's emotions in detail. I then froze everything, and while I looked around, I asked myself what the reader should see, and what they should read between the lines. Finally, with eyes still closed, I began to type.
I'm satisfied with the results for now, but I've learned it's best to close the file and rest before I review my work and proclaim the story set in stone. It is after 11:00 P.M. What may sound like brilliant prose tonight may look like dribble in the morning. Come to think of it, I may end up revising this post sometime tomorrow.