Today’s guest post follows Crystal Naldi through five major revisions she made while writing A Man’s Fight, a dark underground romance. I especially loved the addition of Patrick’s painted nails. Curious what I’m talking about? Read on to discover how that small detail, along with four other key changes, helped shape the story. Along the way, you’ll pick up novel revision tips you can apply to your own manuscript.
By Crystal Naldi
When I first imagined A Man’s Fight, I knew three things: I wanted underground fighting, dangerous attraction, and a main character who was trying to take back power after feeling powerless. Everything else took a few rounds in the cage.
The earliest version of the story was rawer and a lot messier. It had the bones of the book I eventually published, but not the heart yet, leaning more toward bare-knuckle chaos than emotional consequence. The fights and the heat were there. The bruises were definitely there.
But during revisions, I realized Patrick Boss’s story could not just be about what happened to his body in the ring. It also had to capture what happened to his identity, pride, desire, and sense of self.
Here are five of the biggest changes I made while revising A Man’s Fight.
Change #1: I Cut Back the “Fight, Heat, Repeat” Structure
In the earliest version, the story had a much more episodic setup. Patrick would enter the underground, face different fighters, and each fight was going to lead into a much more sensual encounter.
At the time, that sounded fun, dramatic, and dangerous. Very “what terrible decision will this man make next?”
But the more I worked on the book, the more I realized that structure was sending the story in the wrong direction. Instead of building Patrick’s emotional journey, it risked turning the book into a parade of fights and hookups. That can work for some stories, but this one needed something sharper and more mature.
Patrick is not just chasing danger. I also wanted to show him trying to understand who he becomes when pushed past fear. Angry, wounded, and curious about his own strength, he’s drawn to desire in ways that scare him.
So I scaled back the original structure and made the intimacy more compelling. The book became less about “how much can happen?” and more about “what does this cost him?”
Change #2: I Tied the Romantic Lead More Deeply to the Underground
Originally, the romantic lead was going to discover Patrick’s involvement from the outside. He would see him leaving the underground and realize Patrick had been keeping a secret.
That version worked on a basic plot level, but it lacked bite.
The better version came when I tied the romantic lead more directly into the danger, secrecy, and temptation of the underground itself. Suddenly, the romance was happening inside the main plot rather than adjacent to it. Every look, confrontation, and charged moment had more impact because the attraction was tangled up with the same world Patrick was struggling to survive.
Instead of one character just reacting to Patrick’s secret, the romance became part of the secret, making the relationship feel more dangerous and intimate.
That reminded me how romance shouldn’t feel pasted onto the story. In a strong romance, the love interest should complicate the hero’s deepest problem and make the plot worse in the best possible way.
Change #3: The Underground Became a Whole World, Not Just a Place to Fight
At first, the underground was much simpler. I pictured something closer to a gritty open-floor fight club: shirtless guys, bare knuckles, blood, sweat, and a crowd hungry for violence.
It had atmosphere, but it did not have mythology yet. During revisions, I started asking myself what would make this underground feel unforgettable. Why would people come here? Why would fighters risk themselves here? What would make Patrick feel like he had stepped into a place with its own rules, symbols, and rituals?
That is when the world became more theatrical. The fights moved away from a plain open-floor setup and became more structured, stylized, and dangerous. Masks and fighter identities became important, and the space itself evolved into a stage where men were not just fighting, but performing versions of themselves.
That revision changed the tone of the entire book, turning the underground into a place where Patrick could be watched, judged, desired, hurt, and transformed. I used the setting to seduce the characters and dare them to become someone they’re not sure they are ready to be.
Change #4: I Added a Stronger Power Structure
In the earliest version, I did not really have one central figure controlling the underground. The story had fighters, spectators, and danger, but it lacked a strong sense of who was benefiting from all that chaos.
Once I started building a clearer power structure behind the underground, the book gained more tension. No longer random events, the fights were part of a system where someone had control. Someone was watching and understood how to turn violence, secrecy, and spectacle into power.
Patrick was not just walking into a dangerous room anymore; he was walking into someone else’s game.
It also gave Patrick something bigger to push against. Rather than just fighting other men, he was challenging the world they were all trapped inside.
Change #5: I Gave Smaller Details More Meaning
Some revisions are huge structural changes while others are tiny details that suddenly reveal the character better than a whole paragraph of explanation.
For Patrick, one of those details became his nails.
When I first thought of the story, I did not imagine him painting his nails in pride colors. That came later, but once it appeared, it felt like it had always belonged there.
The nails gave Patrick a visual way to carry defiance on his body. They were vulnerable and bold at the same time. In a world built around fists, blood, and masculine performance, painted nails became a sign of rebellion.
That is the kind of detail I love: something small enough to miss at first glance, but strong enough to tell you who a character is.
Another smaller-but-important revision involved moving a romantic complication from another project into this one. I will keep that vague to avoid spoilers, but it was one of those writer moments where a subplot raises its hand from the wrong story and says, “Actually, I belong over there.”
That subplot raised the emotional stakes around Patrick’s choices, making the romance messier and the longing more complicated. It gave the story another layer of “this would be easier if everyone wanted simple things, but of course they don’t.”
Want to Read the Rest of the Book?
The version of A Man’s Fight I first imagined was rougher, sexier, and much more straightforward. The version I published became something stronger: a dark enemies-to-lovers M/M romance about violence, desire, identity, pride, and the dangerous thrill of being seen by the exact person who could ruin you.
A Man’s Fight is a novella set in an underground fighting world of masks, blood, pride, and dangerous attraction. Patrick Boss is a closeted, sensitive gay man who enters the underground searching for power after feeling powerless. What he finds is a world built on violence, secrets, and desire — and a man who makes the fight feel personal in ways Patrick is not ready for.
The book is available now in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook formats.
Readers can learn more about A Man’s Fight, watch the trailer and short film, and find purchase links here:
amansfight.youfightseries.com/extras
More About Crystal Naldi
Crystal Naldi writes gritty M/M romance with blood, bruises, big feelings, and men who probably need therapy before they start kissing each other — but where would the fun be in that?
She is the author of A Man’s Fight and the creator of the You Fight Like a Girl series, a dark romance/fighting saga about survival, identity, and love in violent worlds. Her work often blends cinematic action, emotional intensity, queer romance, and a little bit of chaos.
You can find her online at:
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