Which Project Next?

I didn't like yesterday's post.  Made me feel like an amateur which I don't think I am.

I'm not taking it down, but I'm not happy with it.

Heard back from the editor I hired and she likes the basic arrangement of NEARLY HUMAN, said that some things could be cut but it otherwise works.  She counseled patience...

So I'll wait until she's done.

I tried to completely reorganize and cut the book and it didn't work.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that the first version that a person reads is usually the version they most like.  It's as if they become invested in that incarnation.  So there's that.

Tomorrow I have to make a choice about what to work on next.  I'm torn between working on THE RELUCTANT WIZARD sequel or a DEATH OF AN IMMORTAL sequel.  Or going back and seeing what I can do with SOMETIMES A DRAGON.

Linda did a rewrite of DRAGON and I'd like to plug that in and see if it works and as I'm making the digital copy, do some rewriting.  I really trust Linda's instincts, and I'm betting she improved it.

I loved S.A.D. back when I wrote it, but much like NEARLY HUMAN, it seemed to have structural problems I couldn't overcome.  After 30 years, I might be willing to make the necessary changes.

I used to think that I could just combine different writings into a whole -- so it didn't matter if I wrote from beginning to end in one session.

I'm thinking I was wrong about that.  Books that have worked for me lately (and in hindsight in the past) tend to be done as a whole -- books that don't work tend to be drawn out and combined and mixed and reorganized and "improved" and become a mess.

I'm now at the point with NEARLY HUMAN where it has become a jumble of words.  So I'll probably just take the editor's suggestions, follow through, and then call it a day.

I'm very curious about SOMETIMES A DRAGON, so maybe I'll start with that.  When I tried the same thing with BLOODSTONE, my fourth book, I found it to be completely unfixable -- but I also learned some things.  So even if S.A.D. never transforms, I'm sure I'll get something out of it.