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WIP Overhauling: A Reason to Plot First

It happened a lot with BTB. It's happening again, as I work through a plot direction lag in this overhaul of Dancing Circles.

I get lost in the reading, so lost that I'm drowning in the experience all over again as though it's the first time. I forget what I was supposed to be focusing on, and accomplish nothing.

With BTB, I had to literally force myself to skim during the editing passes. The schedule was too tight, the book too long, for anything else.



This one, I think, will end up that way as well. Long, deep, strong currents. The sort of story that doesn't let you read lightly. At least, I'm finding difficulty in doing so.

Definitely a reason to plot out ahead beforehand. So I don't have to get lost rereading, figuring out which direction the story needs to go next.

For instance, I was going to share an excerpt from this scene that occurs in an underground cavern, a subterranean lake used for bathing. But it spans a 3k length chapter. And I can't bring myself to post that much of a chunk of a WIP, nor can I bring myself to hack it out into a shorter piece. Because it's beautiful as it stands, and to amputate it wouldn't do it justice.

Gah.

The funny thing is, I know where I want this to go, ultimately. It's the details of getting there that I need to work out. There's this lovely scene where the the idolon shifter gets into a fight with the umbra falco and his shadow knives. And then, because the healer can't heal himself, the bodyguard has to stitch up the wounds he just inflicted. The scene was in the original version of the story, and I want to salvage it because I love the violence and conflict of the confrontation, not just on the physical level either.

Somewhere along the way, the MC gets captured. That's definitely going to need to involve one hell of a struggle, close quarters combat style. And the serpen will tip the balance, sliding into his mind.

Doing a bit more damage than intended in the process.

Rhi writes another subliminally dark story... this time with blood and gore and even some arterial spray. So...fine, not quite so subliminal.

Comments

  1. Ok, I came over when I saw this to give encouragement for drowning or whatever, but when I read your post, all I can now think is...

    Dancing Circles W00T!
    idolon shifter...fight with umbra flaco...shadow knives...
    captured?! serpen?! sliding into his mind?!!!

    WANTS!

    Now my grabby hands are all freakin' out. They're supposed to be making jewelry, not twitching.

    *huffs*

    ReplyDelete

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