Saturday night, I watched TRON for the first time, and there was this part where the creator of the grid goes off alone, "knocking on the sky and listening for the sound."
This is where I'm at in my revision process right now. I am all over the manuscript, knocking on different aspects of it. I'm reading aloud, making plot notes on post-its, deleting scenes and characters, adding conversations and descriptions, asking characters questions to figure out what motivates them. I'm listening.
I'm not asking other people for their opinions. I have critiques I've taken into account that are helping me shape this revision, and I'll want more when I'm finished. But at this point, I have to trust that the story and I will come to an understanding. Outside opinion is more of a distraction than help (first drafts are the same way for me). It's coming together. I've taken some false turns that I've had to correct. It's hard to erase those, to move on, but the story is so much stronger than it was a few months ago.
Do you go through this with your own creative process?
And if you've seen TRON, what did you think of it? I really liked it.
