Marking time

It's April.

My, oh my.

All research done, I added some 1200 words to my book, throwing in almost everything I learned, food, drink, music, clothing, ornaments, architecture... you get the drift.

This is the "I researched this so you have to read every word" syndrome.

I've read books where a writer does this to excess, and to me it slows the pace of the story. *Unless the information is exceptionally fascinating, in which case it slaps me out of the story as my focus shifts gear. Too often I have chased after more information on these fascinating subjects, and the book I was reading gets left behind on a figurative bus stop bench somewhere.

Well, I went through and (judiciously, I hope) deleted 700 of those new words. I wanted exotic background color, not a discourse on the life and times.

And I did not want a small new subplot which magically evolved along with the exotica, starring a new and definitely extraneous character, who must now vanish, no matter how delightful, alluring, and charming she acts, hoping for a bit part in the opus.

Out the new character must go, with some small regret, to join a dozen or so others I'd written in, then out, all now standing on the sidelines, waiting patiently for that big break when they may be called back for a role in another story.

In book biz, like show biz, some of the best scenes are left on the cutting room floor.

On an unrelated note, I was typing away and a dropped letter from a word gave me a sudden creative idea. Only time will tell if the idea becomes more than a light bulb flash.

--Cat

***A great post on "killing your darlings"  my author Kristen Lamb