"Rushed"

I get it. My stories are too rushed. Not always, but sometimes. I've written novels and I've written novellas. Guess what? They're different! A novella is a nice, compact little story, whereas a novel over-explains. Okay, good ones don't, but if you've only got a tiny idea, you'll need to over-explain in order to stretch it out to novel length.

That's why I switched from novels to novellas ~ I only had tiny ideas, and often not even that. My successful novellas worked out despite being compact. Since there wasn't much, or any, of a plot to begin with, it could be told in 20,000 words. It was when I tried to write a more comprehensive story that the novella format didn't work. 

Guilty as charged. I only needed to be hit over the head about a thousand times with that critique for it to sink in. So, Second Chance can't be a novella. I still don't think it can be a normal-size novel, but it can be a short one. 

Old habits are difficult to break, though. Often as I'm writing, the urge to jump ahead to a more interesting scene is powerful. I have to constantly remind myself, "No! Don't do that!" I should post a sign on my monitor, "No scene jumping!"

My challenge is to make even the "dull" scene I'm working on more interesting. Make it count ~ somehow. Currently I've got my main character on the tour bus as it prepares to depart. She's been tapped as the superstar's opening act and she's thrust into a whole new, strange world. While it's only a preliminary snapshot, I can still convey her wonder at the newness of it all; describe what the interior of the bus is like, describe the people she's interacting with. The quirky superstar (who I love, did I mention?) ostensibly has a ritual the first day she sets out on the road ~ she asks everyone in her crew to ride in the same bus with her; only later will they inhabit the string of buses that are following behind. She treats that first day as a celebration and brings home-cooked food on board to share with everyone. So, right now, everyone is squeezed inside that bus. I like it ~ it's completely unrealistic, but that's why it's fiction. Of course, I had to research what a customized tour bus is like, since neither my MC nor I have a clue. I've barely scratched the surface, and I'll need to expand on my descriptions. Is it a throwaway scene? Technically. Nothing big is happening, but it adds color. I suppose that's what a novel is supposed to do.

I'm not a patient person. I like to get on with things. With this story I need to learn patience or I'll risk ruining it. I've already put in too much damn work; I don't want to blow it. So, take a deep breath....it'll get done when it gets done.