I have apologies
to make to several people because I have been selfish with my time. I made
commitments to help others and couldn’t follow through in a timely manner. I am
truly sorry. I had to carve out some space to put me first. Sounds really awful
and offending to put it out there like this, but I’ve had so much trouble
crafting an ending to the next Bishop Hill mystery that I had to resort to the
extreme.
Isolating
and focusing on my problems has paid off. I have gotten past the arson scene at
the old house. The escape from a park filled with tourists. Figured out how to
have a car chase through Henry county backroads. Dealt harshly with my bad guy.
Now, I’m ready for the “Final Image” as outlined in Save the Cat Writes a
Novel by Jessica Brody.
I was
introduced to Save the Cat by Quad Cities Writers Meet Up and
their fearless leader, Sandra, when the group worked its way through the whole
book last year. I was surprised and pleased when my first novel, Clouds Over
Bishop Hill, came out in good shape when compared to the 15 steps. I
certainly wasn’t trying. In fact, I was pretty nervous about it all. I’d written
my fight scene in the barn thinking it was the end of the book and then
discovered that no it wasn’t, too many loose ends needed to be tied up.
But I liked that scene. I couldn’t axe it. So, I wrote what I felt like was another
ending. I liked that one too. I kept both. It got published and I held my breath
(metaphor alert). It
confused some readers, but not others. Then I read Save the Cat and
found out that it was okay to do such things.
That was the
first Bishop Hill book, for the second one I thought I’d be more traditional. Still,
writing is hard. Writing can be even harder if you’re a pantser, as in a write-by-the-seat-of-one’s-pants
type, like I am.
I created a
huge diagram of the 15 steps for my wall. Have I filled it in? No. I use the
book as a loose guide, a reference, and for inspiration. I still have to take
my time to work things out with ideas that please me.
So, I am now
encouraged enough with my “final scene” notes to emerge from my writerly time-hoarding
isolation and attempt to get caught up with my other projects and commitments.
