April 27, 2022
Week 81
Emotional State: Put the needle on the record
Book Reset
I’ve been reading aloud the chapters in Book Two, tweaking language, fixing duplicate use of words and sayings, and generally doing a polish edit. I thought I’d figured out the theme issues and rearranged everything to be as good as possible in the last round. And I had… until I read chapter 20.
Screeeeech went the record needle over the worn grooves of this Book, grooves so deep I’m wondering if they’ll leave scars.
The chapters themselves were fine, but the second scene of chapter 19 and the only scene in 20 both start the same way – in the cafeteria. Not a big deal, right? Well, they’re on different days. It felt lazy just to leave it, both scenes need to happen there, so I decided to dig around and see if I could find a scene that could go in between.
And I think I found it. But looking deeper, I wondered if it made sense and what the scene was doing – aka did it have a purpose or was I using it as filler? Everyone who’s read my first book says it is fast-paced and that’s because I abhor filler scenes. I’ve crushed numerous moments and killed many darlings that I felt had no real purpose in the story I was telling. I can’t just have a scene there to have a scene there. It needs a purpose.
Cue me, once again, going back to the drawing board.
Round and round I went as I thought about the theme and the mystery plot as I laid in bed this morning. It all seemed amorphous and flimsy (it’s not), so while the coffee brewed and the tea seeped, I journaled. I sat at our kitchen counter and wrote out the key points of the theme of the book and then the key points of the mystery. And finally, the dots aligned, my brain connected, and we have our framework.
I’d say the chorus sang, but first, the record is looking a bit road weary and second, I hadn’t had my caffeine yet, so no chorus, just quiet cheering. I then plotted it out in my outlining software (love Plotrr, by the way, if anyone is interested in what I use) and started adding in the little beats and moments I didn’t have already in my draft.
Some of them will be big. Some will be a throwaway comment here or there, but all of it will take this book and make it so much better. And the best part? The structure of the book mirrors the first book, where my MC was so focused on her own theme she missed the other bigger theme going on.
I like the symmetry of it all and I like that it will take a little bit of writing to make it work. I have one scene I’ll need to redo, but it was a bit soft anyway, so no harm no foul there.
I finally feel good about it. I can see the depth beneath all the words and scratches, and that is a beautiful thing.
LIFE
Speaking of beauty, my world builder and I are taking a road trip. It came about one drunken night – my birthday night to be exact. I asked what he would do if he could do anything or go anywhere. When he didn’t answer, I gave him my bucket list of a million different things.
I also said I was done not deciding things. It was time to be an active participant in my own life. So, I decided we needed to visit the unpopular states, the unpopular locations, the quirky small towns, the states in the middle that are lovely but never before drew me to see them.
He perked up and decided rather than go to Maine, which is 6 hours away, we should visit a gaming friend of ours in Kentucky, 15 hours away. And so, the roadtrip was born.
He tried to back out – to say it was too far (and it is a long drive) – but I held firm. So, we’re off to Charleston, West Virginia, tomorrow. And then we’ll stop in Lexington, Kentucky to see it for lunch. After that, it’s a few hours’ drive south to see our friend in his fairly small town with sold out hotel rooms. There’s an event happening this weekend and it’ll be hopping in Murray.
I’m just happy we’re hopping some place other than here. It’s been too long, and a change of scenery will be good for both of us.
If nothing else, it puts the needle on the record of life. Can you hear the music playing?
I can.