Yesterday I made a decision ~ I'm changing the focus of my book. This is going to sting a bit. You see, a week or so ago I thought my novella was completed, until I took a glance at my word count and was flabbergasted. Initially I toyed with publishing it anyway, even though it was not much longer than a short story. It felt complete.
The truth is, I'd shortcutted the story, but was so intent on meeting some self-imposed deadline that I couldn't recognize it. Yes, it had the bones of the plot, but everything happened way too fast. I'm okay with the fact that my MC fell in love within the span of two brief scenes ~ these things actually happen in real life ~ but the story went from that to a sudden betrayal to her business's roof suddenly collapsing, and then....well, all's well that ends well.
Really?
That's akin to a high school sophomore's first stab at writing.
Realizing the brevity of the thing, I decided to introduce a new character, which was a sound decision, but I couldn't find a plausible way to weave the new character into the "completed" story. I began a separate document that detailed this new person's interactions with my MC, and my imagination took off, veering into exotic places.
My dilemma was, none of this fit. I'd already written the story's climax, but it had nothing to do with the new focus. It was like two separate stories. So, alas, I'm going to have to scuttle the climax, the scene I'd spent so many hours trying to get right. And you know me; I really hate throwing anything away.
I feel like I'm starting over. The fact is, however, the psychological terror created by the new character is much more interesting than an actual roof caving in, despite the fact that I'd managed to include all the appropriate onomatopoeia to describe it (which was kind of fun). There's a chance it could still happen, although I don't know how. While the new acquaintance is capable of malicious actions, it would be quite a feat for her to implode a roof. She's not a James Bond villain.
My best course is to approach this as a whole new story, and try to forget all that came before it. I am not looking forward to it. It's not that I like writing because it's easy (it's not), but because I enjoy the process. But backtracking starts to feel like a homework assignment. And I question if this story deserves that much effort. Not that any of my previous works were weighty, but they were enjoyable to write and (to me) enjoyable to read.
I've somehow landed in a quagmire, which began with revising one of my full-length novels into a novella. That was excruciating. I hated the entire process. And now I can't even write a novella from start to end without agonizing over it.
This is not what I signed up for.
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