Blah Blah

Excellent parking lot session today. They usually are. The only thing I don't like about them is that they are too short. But, alas, there were other tasks I needed to tend to . I did get two writing sessions in. Well, more like editing sessions.

Getting close to the end, so of course I'm starting to suffer from the "I suck" syndrome once again. My mother says I go through this with every book. I know I do, I just forget about the last time I had to contend with the syndrome and wonder what I ever thought I was doing even starting this book.

I wonder how the hell I think I'm going to actually pull it off, even though the threads are all coming together. I wonder if the book is too dark, as it is much darker than the first Leah books. My sister loves this one best. She tells me it's her favorite. This is nice to hear and although I do value her opinion, I'm also aware that she's my sister and therefore may be biased.

I also know that not everyone is going to like everything that I write, and that's not why I do it. But I'm mindful that people don't have a lot of time these days. If somebody is going to sit down with one of my books and take the time to read it, I damned well want that person to be entertained and feel that they haven't wasted their time.

There isn't much in the way of filler in my books. I pretty much make sure that every scene has a purpose. I try not to go off in various meandering directions, and if I do, I cut, cut, cut, and cut even more of the stuff that isn't needed.

There is one character I like but am not sure that he is really required. I'm struggling with this because he has a purpose for a short part of the book, like three scenes, and then not again after that. Do I keep him or cut him? I don't want to ditch him but if he doesn't step up and make himself indispensable soon, I'm cutting him loose.

Maybe I can use him in another book some day. I like the idea of him, but he's not living up to my expectations and giving me what I need for the story. Cutting him will mean re-working the book some. I'll have to rethink some things. So it'll mean more work in the end. But maybe a better story. We'll see. I'll give him a bit more time to redeem himself.

Off to bed for me. I'm fading.