The Persistence of Pain

As I mentioned before, I have done a major revision to my YA scifi Veritas, and am now in the middle of a final read through before handing it off to my editor, the wonderful Kathryn Craft.

One thing I definitely need to address in my manuscript is the persistence of pain. When a character gets physically injured and then seems unfazed by it in the very next scene. The pain needs to carry through. It’s something I would immediately notice in other people’s writing, yet I missed it in my own until this reading.

My character breaks his wrist and is knocked unconscious in one scene. He feels the effects properly at the beginning of the next scene, but then the effects fade away. I mention in passing that his wrist was later set and splinted, but by the next day he is running around the forest with no ill effects.

Come on, Kerry, you know better than that.

I have never had either a concussion or a broken bone. My brother has had a concussion, so I know the effects can last for days. And I understand from research how painful a dislocated bone break can be. From my own experience, my C-section scar gave me pain for about a year, and even now, 10 years later, it can feel sore if too much pressure is applied.

Pain is persistent, and I need to carry that through the necessary scenes.

Perhaps my noting this in the present read through means I have fixed the larger issues with the manuscript. I guess I will find out after Kathryn gets through with it!

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