Yeah, right.

I was still worried about the last chapter. This morning I’ve determined that the problem is not with the last chapter, but really just the last four pages. Of course, this is not really much better news as this story line leads to the next storyline (which is another book already in draft). A substantial change here will reverberate all the way down the line.

And, yet, that is what is so clearly needed.

Hmmmm …

Such is life, eh?

And so I opened the hood and peered in and got to work.

I think one of the problems I have with this one is that in the root of my mind I think it has the chance to be something special. I’ve written a few novel-length works, all fairly standard fares. Good stories (I think), but not particularly unique beyond the events of the stories themselves. But this one is different. I’m not sure I’m good enough to write it as it needs to be written, and so it’s been easier to just let it sit there.

Strange, isn’t it, this writing thing?

If you like that one, you can find more stuff here or here.

While I’m on a linky role, I suppose I should remind all that my one Amazon reviewer (what a lonely guy, eh?) had these wonderful things to say about Picasso’s Cat & Other Stories.

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Yeah, the story’s coming along. As I figured, it’ll be tomorrow before I’ll consider it finished–and I’ll probably let it sit until the weekend to do a full editing pass, so technically it won’t be in a readable state until then. Fair enough. But it’s come together now and I’ve come to like it considerably more than I had earlier. Always a good sign.

It makes me feel better, anyway.

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Spent some time last night messing around with e-pubing stuff. So much to do.

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So I did my walk at lunch yesterday and the results were astoundingly good. Thirty-plus minutes of exercise in the sunshine and open air, ten-plus pages of line-edited manuscript, and a complete framework of what the story is about. Game, set, and match.

Well…not quite so fast.

I’ve used this morning to do a total edit, and now I have a few key things to add. I hope it will be done tomorrow, which means probably Thursday or Friday. Shrug. It’ll take what it takes. Then on to the next rock.

While the weather is nice here in Indiana, I’ve taken to attempting lunchtime walks–meaning I try to eat at my desk while working, then if I get time I use my actual break time to walk. There’s a nice park right next to my office building that’s ready-made for this. If I get a chance today I’ll take my little story with me and read it aloud. That’s always fun, though I have to be careful about reading too loud and making people think I’m just crazy.

Maybe that’s why people stray away from me while I’m walking, you think? [grin]

In all seriousness, though, I find that these walks do a few things. First, they get my blood pumping after a morning in corporate America–always a good thing. I come back with more energy, at least. They also get me out of the box. Walking outside gives me something different to look at, and seems to let my brain reset. It’s amazing how many times I come back from a lunchtime walk with a new answer to a problem that I’ve been working on and find that this answer is perfect. Perhaps I should call these idea walks. Sounds good to me.

Anyway, I’m asking myself right now to dig deeper into the story–I’m asking myself what the story really means to the main character. I think the plot, and the depth of character, as they stand now do a good job for the reader, but I’m feeling that if I can go that extra half-step it would raise the thing in its entirety from being a solid piece of work that’s fun to read to being a truly “good story.”

And so I’ll throw this question on the back of the stack right now, and let it bubble up during the lunchtime walk and we’ll see what comes of it.

Then yesterday afternoon, while walking at lunch, an idea hit me.

This morning I let the idea run and wound up with about four pages of stuff that feels right. Yeah, it needs to be edited down. Maybe it should be two pages. Or three. Whatever. You get the idea. The most interesting thing about this morning’s work is that, while it was kicked off by yesterday’s idea, the bulk of the flow went in a totally different way.

This is one of the things I like the most about writing fiction. It’s like magic. One moment there’s nothing, and then a half hour or an hour later the solution just kind of appears.

Well, duh.

But, you see, I’ve been off work this week, and it’s suddenly hit me again just how true this statement is. I’ve been having a great time of it this week. My daily process is: (1) Get up about 8:00 AM, (2) write until noon, (3) lunch, (4) do something good around the house/yard, (5) walk to the gym and work out, then walk home, (6) go to dinner with my lovely wife, (7) do whatever in the evening with her, (8) go to bed. Simple. Great. Much fun.

But then, I need to say that the 3-4 hours of writing has not always been particularly fruitful. I’m not used to having that kind of time anymore. I’m more used to 30 minutes or an hour. It’s actually a little annoying. But yesterday I actually loosened up a bit, and got a lot done, and then…all of a sudden…in the middle of the book I was working on, I wrote a strange paragraph. It ddn’t fit, you see. So I pulled it out, and looked at it.

It belonged in a different story.

So today I decided to stop working on the book and explore this story. That was the plan, anyway.

For a couple reasons, I decided that today I would do the cliche-kinda thing, and go to Starbucks to write. I settled in with my Mocah, and I started to write. But oddly, I didn’t start with the paragraph I had intended to. Instead, I started with something completely different. Decidinng to trust my instinct, I just went with it. I powered on. Two mochas and nearly four hours later, I had a complete short story. Beginning, middle, end. Do you know how long it’s been since I wrote an entire short story in a single sitting? I honestly can’t remmeber the last time that happened.

All I can say is that I feel really solid about it, and I like the story, too. Sure, it needs work–it’s a first draft, afterall. But the story is there.

Very cool.

I was thinking about this when I went to the gym this afternoon. I’m spending time there nearly every day, working on my muscles, working on my endurance. I’m feeling good about that. But, for the obvious reson, I’m feeling better today. I’ve missed that feeling, the sense of confidence that I can finish a story in a day. It’s a swagger thing. And it’s good to get it back.

Yeah, I hear ya…

“Well, duh.”

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So, today I’m moving onward with a new short story tentatively titled “Walking the Line.” It’s almost fully formed now. Just looking for that last little thing that moves it from being interesting to really good. You know what I mean, right? That thing you can’t describe, but is certainly real, and that thing you know as soon as you feel it.

Yeah. That thing.