I finished my third one and it was drudgery. All my best laid plans were to waste. Did I really want to continue doing this?
I went back to Twistin’ Matilda after I took a short break to collect myself. I sat down and began to work on it again and something about it didn’t feel right. I made some changes but realized I didn’t know what was wrong. I had to reread The Matilda.
It was simple and yet somewhat daunting. You see, it was the characters. They had altered quite a bit and they didn’t seem like the same people. Well, as with any story, they were integral to the plot. Their needs and desires were what made the story. If the characters were off, then the story didn’t work. And if that didn’t work then it simply didn’t work.
The benefit was that it was fixable. I poured through the first book and worked my way through Twistin’ Matilda. I threw chunks of it out. The flow was better and I was once again happy with it. It has been sent off to my test audience, editors, and proof readers (what have you).
I await their responses so I can get this one whipped into shape. In the meantime, it’s now back to Black Matilda to revise it. It has so much potential!
Jon Gray Lang.com 