Today I plan to start revisions on The Advent. Step 1 is reading through the manuscript as it stands. This is always an interesting venture. I haven’t looked at it since I finished the first draft back in early December, and I have a short memory when it comes to my own writing. I also need to revise a short story, “Butterflies Dancing,” this month.
To me one of the most interesting things that happens when I reread a first draft is that I discover allegories. The Seventh World books are not straight allegory (none of my writing is, except the short story “Journey“), but they have plenty of allegorical themes and truth shadows. And one of my jobs, when I’m revising, is to look out for those themes and shadows. Some are there because I put them there; some have crept in quite on their own.
For example? All of the Gifted in the Seventh World books are either orphans or were raised without their parents. I didn’t do that on purpose, but it has significance. Likewise, I realized at one point that an inordinate number of the major characters are female, and I didn’t do that deliberately either. But it also has thematic significance: in scripture, the church is represented as a woman waiting for her bridegroom. In the Seventh World, many of those who are struggling to stand against the Blackness are women waiting for their heroes — and most especially waiting for the King, the ultimate Hero and Bridegroom for that world.
To me there’s something truly exciting and joyous about discovering hidden meanings in my own writing. It’s fun, and it gives me new insight not only on the stories, but on life itself. Whatever your day may bring you, may you also find hidden meanings in it — and may you find joy in the living!
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