Sunday, January 18, 2009

All part of the game...


So I just spent the last week working a critical scene in my new book only to finish and realize everything I'd written was unnecessary because I'd already tied the lose end that I thought I'd left flapping in the wind in the scene before. How does that happen, you might wonder? Well, in this case, my process backfired.

See, I'm pretty strict about finishing a scene and moving on to the next one without going back to review the finished scene first. Why? Because until I know exactly how the book will end, I don't like to spin my wheels on polishing and perfecting scenes which may not make it to the final or draft of may change so drastically that I'd have to polish all over again. Usually I start the day with the new scene and only read the last two or three sentences from the last before I move on. But I'd had a break in writing because of holidays and the hustle and bustle of going back to work and I lost my place. It wasn't until I dug myself so deep in my new scene that I couldn't get out that I decided to go back and review--ARGH (picture me slapping my forehead with disgust). There it was, plain as day with a nice neat bow. Everything I'd spent 10 pages and countless hours trying to explain was neatly packaged in two action packed paragraphs. I hate when that happens.

On a happier note, the Cardinals are winning. :-)

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