Scribbling Saturday: Sequence

When you write, when you put down the story fresh from your inspiration, it seems so right. You cannot see how it could be improved, except perhaps for some spelling and grammar. Why is it then, that left to lie for a while, to go cold from the heat of inspiration, you can see so many things wrong with it?

My historical biography of Alina de Mowbray was quite short, so I put in some chapters of background information. What was daily life like? What did they wear, eat? Marriage customs etc. It gave a fuller picture to the story. The story itself was told in chronological order, obviously, so how could the book be in the wrong order? But it was. I thought about it a lot while I was in hospital with nothing to do. And when I came home I completely reorganised it. The manuscript is now with two publishers who have asked to see it.

I am now editing (again!) the first of my Flight of the Kestrel books. I suddenly realised the other day that an important meeting happens far too late in the story, and a whole sub plot happens far too early. Luckily, with the software I use (yWriter), it is easy to move scenes from one chapter to another, but first you have to decide where they are to go. And then I had to check if I had referred to the rearranged scenes elsewhere in the book which would not make sense now they are moved.

Yet it was so right before. I chose to put the scenes where I did, and I must have had a good reason. But now it's so wrong. It's on days like these that I wonder why I put myself through all this and don't go back to cross stitch. That has a chart to make sure you put everything in the right place.