I think I finally figured out where I’ve been going wrong with my latest story(A Companion for Life). I’m going back 23 pages and rewriting it. It’ll be the same story, but slightly different. I have all the pieces of the puzzle, but some pieces are from different puzzles and I’ve been trying to hammer them with my fists into this puzzle. I stayed up all night thinking about plot possibilities and I finally accepted that if I kept it as it was then the only logical next step would take me in an totally wrong direction…so back I went looking for the root of the problem and I found it. When you read the final version you’ll wonder what on earth I could possibly have done differently. I wish I had a crystal ball. Or better still, I wish I didn’t insist on thinking I know anything. That would help!
I feel like the story is flowing into place and it makes sense. I could almost hear the characters sigh in relief, “At last, she’s listening!” Sometimes I really irritate myself. I do this all the time, but then for me writing a book is like having a large box filled with three or four puzzles. I’m putting together one puzzle, but all those pieces of blue sky can be mind numbing, but I think this is Eureka. I’ll throw myself into it on Monday and with luck the characters will crack the whip and my fingers will obey like lightening.