Storytelling on the fly

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Sweet Williams in myriad colours thriving where the deer can't nibble them.

In reaching the near-end of my fictional WIP, I'm feeling my way around as revisions bump into fresh additions, dribs and drabs of new writing, lots of reading previous chapters to make sure everything makes sense. Yet I'm enjoying how this new configuration is coming together, making notes in brackets so I don't forget too much of what remains to be included. I haven't been rushing myself, wanting to savor the experience, yet I'm also aching for the next book, which means I'm hooked on these folks, itching to share their stories. This is the best part of writing, having fallen in love with a quirky cast and wanting to expand their horizons further.

Yet I am taking off the upcoming Memorial Day weekend; a break is necessary, then I can return to writing with a recharged battery. This series has hit me so squarely in the face, I'm trying to find the required space so I can do justice to these folks and their foibles. I keep to a pretty regular schedule when writing, going five to six days straight, then off a day, then back to it. This longer break will be fascinating when I return for how easily I can dive into where I've left off, kind of in the middle of a chapter, lol. Yet for how disjointed these last few chapters have been, perhaps it's fine to merely need a scene or two short ones to complete said chapter. Writing in this manner of lots of dismantling, then restoration, is unusual for me, but when I wrote this 'book', I gave it a half-arsed ending which it didn't deserve, yet inspired me to write its prequel, which put me into series mode, whoa! Definitely a unique manner in which to begin a lengthy project, but change is good.

There is no right way to construct a novel other than to write and rewrite, telling a great story with compelling characters. Seventeen years after delving into spinning yarns, it's refreshing to find myself challenged by the method. I'd be untruthful if I said I want to write like this all the time, but again change is good. Or if nothing else, it makes me appreciate my typical routine. Total teardowns are occasionally necessary, but minor tweaks are fine too.

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