Edits, grr argh!

Today, I am editing. I have been editing for the past ten days or so. Maybe longer. Getting this book ready to be released into the wild. I'd like to have it out there. I want to be able to stop teasing you and give you a whole book to read at once, not just bits and pieces.

Until yesterday, I'd say the edits were going well. Yesterday, however, I stumbled upon an event I'd written into the story and I realized a) that it didn't work because b) I couldn't remember what it meant when I wrote it in the first place.

Aigh. The trouble with letting a story sit idle.

I used to think it was odd when authors would say that they didn't remember the books they'd written, or how a particular storyline went. How is that possible? I'd think. All of the stories I'd come up with by then still seemed fresh in my mind. I was sure *I* would never forget a character or a plot twist or my hero's name.

And now I understand. Not happy about it, but I get it. While I still have the basic plot of the books I've written to date in my head, I am absolutely certain I've forgotten some of the twists and turns or some of the character quirks I might have tossed into the mix. There are things in those older stories that I should have delved into more deeply or taken out altogether, I'm sure. There's a reason a lot of us never want anyone to see our first manuscripts, right?

So this event wasn't working. I have to fix it. The problem has killed my editing groove and I haven't gotten it back yet, which is so frustrating I'm grinding my teeth. I will get through it, though, and I will pick up the pace again.

The nice part about my writing process is that I have this built-in roadblock, though. If I hit a snag like this, I know it has to be fixed. I must back up and figure out where the plot went wrong. Much as I hate that it happens at all, I'm grateful to my brain that I can't simply write The Wrong Thing (as determined by yours truly, of course) and toddle on blithely ignorant to what I've done.

But that doesn't make it fun.

Upside: I've written 628 words I didn't have yesterday. I will take my victories where I can get them.

No snippet today. Sorry! Just means I have to find something really tasty to share with you next time. I'll find one. Probably.

:)