It means you need to suck it up and re-write them!

In the case of my novel, Through the Door, this means a lot of hard work has been added to its ‘to-do’ list. More research, more brainstorming, more organization. I will do the work to tell a better story – because it deserves it.

I love the characters, the plot and the premise. So I’m stubbornly plugging along on the to-do list and outline. This year work halted a couple of times when family stuff needed my attention. Coming back after a month or two is hard! It is amazing how confused and lost you feel at first. Getting oriented again takes some reading your notes and referring to the outline.

I’m learning so much while writing this novel.  The most important lesson is to make sure you outline more details and organize things tightly, so you do not lose your way in the midst of the chaos. I believe that if I had more details planned out that I would be finished with the writing and working on the editing by now.

It has been said, many times, “write what you know”. I know a little about a lot of things. What I do NOT know MUST be researched. This can be a chore at times, but I would be so disappointed it if I were reading a novel and the flow is interrupted by wrong things about a subject I am familiar with.  It has happened and I was.

I’m growing to like doing research. Often, I am surprised/delighted about what I find out, and now and then I learn something that slides right into my story and makes it better. Win-Win, as it were. [Hubby hates the win-win saying, but sometimes it really applies.]

When I needed to learn about head lice, what I read grossed me out enough –  they didn’t need to show me photos!  Google it if you dare. short articles and huge hideous (zoomed in) photos of creatures from another planet.  My scalp itched for hours after. Telling hubby about it later (he saw no photos or text), his head started itching.  Sorry if yours is now.  My Bad.

Books, archived newspapers and the internet are my best sources, however the most fun is chatting with someone who has experienced for themselves the trials or situation that I’m writing about. They made it feel more real to you, and you pass that along to your characters. Having a 98-year-old early resident of a small mountain township will have stories to tell that are not recorded in history, but happened just the same.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with my manuscript…

♥  TTFN  ♥