Saturday, August 15, 2009

Plot hole

So there I was, happily driving down the editing highway when bang! I hit a plot hole.

A big one; a deep, dark plot hole that ripped the undercarriage right of the book, and without the undercarriage, you ain't goin' nowhere.

It's tough, climbing out of that hole, all bruised ego and dented pride, to look at the wreck. Everything else is shiny, gleaming with a new coat of words and sentences that blend together nicely. But underneath is a mess of twisted reasoning all busted up because of a weak frame.

It seemed fine at the time of writing. All logical because of the characters involved and the situation, but on review, it doesn't seem credible.

I'm wondering if it can be repaired. I'm pretty sure I've got a spare plot, I just have to remember where I put it. I've got the tools, so that's something. And maybe the damage isn't so bad; I just have to adjust the thinking of a couple of characters. Though I still have to straighten out the why of it. And there's no bigger question than 'why'.

The two trailers, books two and three, seem fine, but they're not going anywhere either. I'm gonna have to drag them back to the first draft parking lot with the others until I get this fixed.

I think I'll sit on the side of the road for a while, under the shade of a thoughtfully placed Blog Tree, see if any branches are strong enough to help me get back on track.

It's a long walk back to the parking lot for a book to take down the editing highway. But I'm not giving up on this or any other drafts. The road is already littered with the wrecks of others who gave up; I'm not adding any of mine.

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