Loni Townsend's Blog, page 6

And One Became Two #IWSG

It’s the first Wednesday of June. JUNE! We have this month and the year will be half over.

What makes me an insecure writer today? The same thing that’s been plaguing me for flippin’ years! Book 2. Or should I say Book 2, divided by 2?

Critique partners are amazing. I love them. I have become a much better writer because of them. And sometimes, their comments trigger a landslide.

After reading the first set of Book 2 chapters, a trusted CP mentioned “lots of plot”. My knee-jerk reaction was to go into all my justifications for the events contained within the pages. But the reasonable writer within me took a step back to examine the information.

The problem is this guy to the left. His subplot doesn’t relate to the main plot. Like, at all. The events are necessary for future books, but they have nothing to do with fighting the monsters. That has to be bad for the reader experience, right?

*internal screaming*

As I melted down into panic mode, I scrambled to figure out what to do. Do I ignore the problem and just finish my rewrites? I wouldn’t be truly happy with it because I would know the problem exists. But I have no way to relate the events of this subplot to the monsters.

The solution I landed with is to revive the subplot I decided to cut in March 2020. The problem I was addressing then was how the first half and second half of the character’s story didn’t relate, so I trashed the first half and expanded the second half because the latter had characters that are necessary for future books. Seemed logical at the time. But the first half is better suited to relate to the main plot.

What about the subplot I’m cutting? Because those characters and events are still necessary, I’m going to have to put them somewhere. That means I’m adding another book.

My 5 book series has expanded to 6 books, and I’m going to have to stop thinking about book 3 as book 3. I also have to move book covers around and think up another made-up word to fall in with the other titles. Everything is a mess.

I’m resigned to do the work, and I was at least smart enough to keep previous completed versions of my book around.

IWSG Question of the Month – For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

Given my experience with Book 2, I’d say I don’t shelve it at all. I start re-drafting almost as soon as I recognize the problems.

Have you ever read a book where one of the subplots didn’t relate to the main plot? How was your experience with that? Have you ever split a book in two?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group

You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post And One Became Two #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

May Take A While #IWSG

Happy May everyone! Today, my parents have been married for 48 years. Woot! I hope you join me in wishing them a very happy anniversary.

I didn’t accomplish much toward my personal goals in April. We had our big launch at work, followed by a frenzy of fixes and tweaks. It didn’t leave much mental processing available for things like plot problems and story issues.

And I have those aplenty. Book 2 had me announcing it was a flaming pile of poo while I spiraled into a depressive funk caused by all the rewrites I know await me. You’d think I was a perfectionist by how much I’ve put into this book. I’m not. Seriously. But a critique group member had repeatedly stated how valuable he found Brandon Sanderon’s talk on Plot, and I had to go listen to it and see what I could apply. There were aspects I felt I conquered in previous rewrites, such as structure and circling back to themes. But promises, progress, and payoffs?

I found I was lacking in the “progress” portion of the alliteration. I’d made promises about my main character where he has to step into a role he really doesn’t want. He evades it for 75% of the book—first intentionally, then unintentionally. It’s the unintentional part that’s the problem. I dropped all focus on that subplot because he wasn’t around the entity who was hounding him to step into the role. I see now how that’s a problem.

That’s just five more chapters added to my rewrite list. *sigh*

IWSG Question of the Month – Has any of your readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn’t expect? If so, did it surprise you?

Does my sister-in-law telling me she absolutely hated my first-draft main characters count? I certainly hadn’t been expecting that.

Do you ever try to apply new knowledge to an existing project? How did that go? Are you making progress with your work?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group

You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post May Take A While #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

I did it! #IWSG

I finished my book! Again. For the third time. Kinda.

The big revision plan I had for Isto is done (woot!), but as I reread from the beginning to see if all the changes are cohesive, it’s instigated a few more changes. No problem. I can deal with that. But then a member of my critique group expressed his dissatisfaction with two of my early chapters and, well, now I’m changing another POV.

Sorry Cameron, but you’ve gotta change.

I’m not frustrated by this, though. In fact, this other POV I’m changing is my oldest writing in this book. He’s the POV I pantsed like 8 years ago during NaNoWriMo, and though his latter half changed during the great timeline rewrite of 2017 and changed again during the tension realization of 2019, I’ve hung onto the first handful of chapters, unwilling to rewrite everything for this character.

I’ve taken a deep breath, stepped back, and now I’m ready to let them go. I’ve already got a plan of attack. And I congratulate myself on the forethought not to add chapter numbers just yet, in anticipation of rearranging events.

I’ve been swamped these past few weeks at work, scrambling to get a project done that went live on Monday. Now I’ve been fighting fires and fixing things. Hopefully today it’ll calm to the point where only minimal maintenance is needed. It hasn’t left me a whole lot of time to work on writing. In fact, it might be a while before I make return blog visits, for which I apologize.

IWSG Question of the Month – Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?

Not in the spirit of the question, no, but I’ve come to realize these past few years that I’ve committed writing sins I didn’t know I committed until after the fact, and they are so ingrained in the story that I’m leaving them. Characters were made. Characters were killed. And though I know I’m contributing to the greater problem, I’m still going to finish my series keeping the problematic choices intact. Once I finish, I will choose either not to publish, or publish, but not advertise/market it.

And I’m okay with that. My goals were never to succeed as a full-time author, but to finish the series before I die.

Here’s a picture of a few character heads, the first 4 being the main POVs of Isto, the last being a POV from the previous book. I’ve been hanging onto them for a while, not yet posted to social media or anything.

Have you ever made writing decisions that you now feel bad about? What do you do about them?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group

You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post I did it! #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Five More Chapters #IWSG

Ah, March. The month of so many things, and here we are, already to the first Wednesday. Since it’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group day, I’ll wait until next week to talk about the Colonel’s Challenge results. Today, I’m going to talk about the same thing I talk about every first Wednesday: my book.

I’m not insecure about my writing today. According to my assessment, I only have 5 chapters left to edit. I started the year with 8 to go. Since then, I’ve finished about 12 of them, some getting updated more than once. But really. Only 5 more chapters…

I swear.

It’s not perfectionism. And it’s not editing just for the sake of avoidance either. I’ve tightened the magic system. I’ve removed one-off characters that were quick fixes in a pinch. I’ve cut out extraneous details that don’t improve the world building or play a role in the plot. I’ve set up a character’s power so that when he uses that power during the important events, it doesn’t feel like it comes out of nowhere. I’ve cut infodumps. I’ve added emotional validation for a character’s feelings.

Looking back at Thanmir War, I see its flaws. I see how I could’ve improved my main character, increased the tension, cleaned up the story itself. I’m determined to do better with Isto.

So no insecurity today. Today I’m hopeful. Confident.

IWSG Question of the Month – Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice?

I don’t typically read widely, but I’m not strict to my genre. My childhood was filled with nightmares courtesy of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. Then I hit pre-teen and dove straight into Piers Anthony (Xanth) and Terry Brooks (Landover series). At my mom’s prodding, I tried Christian fiction with Frank Peretti and a middle grade series I don’t recall the title of. I dabbled in noir and sci-fi. I devoured the historical Outlander series (Lord John Grey novellas are my fave). I’ve picked up espionage thrillers, murder mysteries, and even a bit of erotica. I laughed through satirical comedies and screamed in exasperation at how every Christine Feehan paranormal romance book was the SAME FREAKING BOOK. I’ve even read nonfiction, though that’s more for self-improvement rather than relaxation or enjoyment.

But the reading I enjoy most falls into the Urban or Epic fantasy genre, which is where I spend most of my time. In the past month, I’ve finished Shakespeare for Squirrels, The Blade Itself, and an old anthology called Mean Streets. I took a stab at Crave but couldn’t stop laughing when the YA girl’s heart pattered at the brooding young man with the high-rise cheekbones and chiseled jaw that could cut stone. Currently, I’m a quarter of the way through Rhythm of War (460K!), book 4 in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. It’s writers like Sanderson who make me feel comfortable with my 180K novel, despite the teasing of my critique group.

I don’t know where I’ll go from there. Maybe you can suggest something?

What genres do you like reading? Are there any books you would recommend? Do you like to try different genres?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group

You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post Five More Chapters #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Well, Ain’t that Exciting? #IWSG

I’m running late with today’s post because when I arrived at work this morning, I found the entries blocked off due to a suspicious package. Thankfully it was just a box of office supplies, but the morning chaos threw me off my game. On the upside, I got to go home, make my kids an omelet, and drop them off at school before returning to work with the “all clear”. On the downside, my stress levels are high today.

It’s another Insecure Writer’s Support Group day, and I’m still an insecure writer. I wrote 20K towards Isto in January, and I only kept half of it. I checked off another chapter in my list to revise and have started over twice on the chapter I’m currently on. Things are flowing, just not at the pace I’d hoped to achieve.

As a result, I decided to let myself listen to some audiobooks. I tend to get absorbed by books so much so that I stop working on my own writing in favor of listening to them. I’d told myself I wouldn’t listen to an audiobook until I finished working on Isto. Well, I gave in, and thankfully self-discipline has won out. Instead of listening to the audiobooks on my lunch, I wrote like I was supposed to. Best of both worlds!

I started with Peace Talks by Jim Butcher and flowed straight into Battle Ground. They’re pretty much the same book, just broken into two, otherwise it’d be twice as large as the other books in the series. While listening, I asked myself, “what makes me enjoy this?” Partially the pacing. Everything is pushing ahead, moving forward, all the time. Another is the voice and the personality of the character, and how it really shines through the narration.

When I finished those two, I switched to Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. It wasn’t a good move for me. Everything I enjoyed about Butcher’s writing wasn’t there in Cline’s. The pace slogged, the information got repeated, there was a lot of telling, and I didn’t click with the character. Though the playback time was equal to one of Butcher’s books, it took me as long to finish the one book as it did to finish both of Butcher’s books. It killed my writing momentum, making me worried that I was making the same mistakes in my work that I disliked in Cline’s.

Now I’m on to Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore and it’s been a breath of fresh air. Well, fresh air filled with crude humor and excessive profanity, but welcomed nonetheless. Moore’s book pushes at that always-moving-forward pace. He also swaggers between wit and stupid humor in a way that makes me laugh aloud and get weird looks from my coworkers. The voice shines through the narration, ridiculous as it is, and it has once again inspired me to add some flare to my own words. I’m halfway through the book and will probably finish in the next day or so.

I won’t bother you with updates on the Colonel’s Challenge or digital painting. I have done stuff offline, but this post is long enough to bother you with my current art project.

IWSG Question of the Month – Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?

Most of my online friends have been made through blogging. I love learning about other people’s lives and connecting with them, even if I never meet them face-to-face.

Can you read books while writing one of your own? Do you find other writers influence or inspire you? Have you felt dragged down because of someone else’s writing?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group

You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post Well, Ain’t that Exciting? #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

New Year, Same Focus #IWSG

My goals this year haven’t changed much from previous years: family, fitness, and finishing the dang book.

We’ll start with writing, since it’s the first Wednesday of the month making it Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. I’d hoped to finish book 2 of the big book series by the end of last year. That didn’t happen. First there was the pandemic, then the words weren’t flowing because I didn’t have a clear image in my head. Once I swapped a couple of characters, things rolled along until I realized I had a plot hole. The book is about monsters attacking these people groups, and my main character fits into both groups. In the previous version, he was protected from one of the monsters based on his location. But he’s not in that location anymore, therefore, logically, he should be attacked by the monster.

I’ve got the plot hole fixed, but it had a ripple effect through the rest of the story, widening my ring of changes I have to make. I didn’t get them done before the year ended. My daily word count during my break between Christmas and New Year’s ranged from 304 to 903, but the cool thing about that was I got to write while I was at home (usually not the case), and I wrote every day. It required I get up at 5:30 AM instead of sleeping in and enjoying the luxuries of vacation time, but it’s been worth it.

There’s 9 chapters left I need to rewrite. *crosses fingers* Hopefully it won’t take the whole year to finish.

The annual Colonel’s Challenge started on the 1st at my work. It’s a fitness challenge that lasts 10 weeks with a goal to get 30 hours of aerobic activity, do 3,500 sit-ups/push-ups, and lift weights. Women’s goals are 1,000 x starting body weight, men is 1,500. Since I slacked off on my diet and exercise starting the week of Thanksgiving, my weight lifting goal is 148,500lbs. I’m off to a good start with 12,875lbs.

Geez Louise, am I SORE! It’s been a year since I’ve seriously lifted weights, and I’m paying the price for it. But my fitness goal for 2021 is to stick with my diet and exercise for the full 10 weeks, limiting my Red Bull intake to only Fridays, avoiding alcohol, and sticking with 11-7 time restricted feeding.

The last of my goals, but by far my most important, is family. I signed up with Positive Parenting Solutions in April 2019 and implemented changes around the house in an effort to better help my son who has a history of outbursts and violent reactions. It’s worked for the most part, and life around the house is now routine and mostly incident free. But he still faces bouts of frustration that result in screaming, wailing, hitting, and other unpleasant behavior. This year, I’m looking at the work of Dr. Ross Greene whose focus is Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS). He’s got web resources and books, and from the description, it sounds like what my family is dealing with. It’s been 4 years of trouble, and hopefully the last.

IWSG Question of the Month – Being a writer, when you’re reading someone else’s work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people’s books?

My answer: irrational, unreasonable female protagonists who are supposed to be sympathetic characters. They trigger me so much that I usually resort to swearing and often want to chuck the book across the room.

There’s other stuff that will stall me out, such as confusing content, unbelievable characters, and lack of tension, but those are usually when beta-reading and critiquing, so I’ll press on with notes back to the writer. Plus I struggle with the same in my own writing, so I know how tough it can be.

What are your goals for 2021? What makes you stop reading? Have any experience with CPS?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post New Year, Same Focus #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

The End Draws Near #IWSG

Wow. Can you believe it’s the last first Wednesday of 2020? Despite all that’s happened this year (earthquakes, pandemic, my mom’s cancer), it still surprises me that in a month, it won’t be 2020 anymore.

I’m thankful I’ve been able to keep working to support my family while my husband tends to the kids and the rollercoaster that is their schooling. I’m thankful my mom’s in remission and she and my dad have been able to run away to warm weather and explore the outdoors. I’m thankful for the pictures they send me. I’m thankful that tools like Zoom let me keep having critique group when the libraries closed their conference rooms. It even let an old member who moved to the east coast rejoin our meetings. I’ve lost weight, I’ve gained weight, and lost most of it again. (Four more pounds until I’ve shed my COVID 19.) I’ve spiraled into depression, dragged myself out with help from my husband, and have been pretty solid the past couple of months. I’ve upped my art game and managed to produce pieces that I’ve been pretty happy with.

But this is Insecure Writer’s Support Group day, so let’s talk about writing.

Book 2 of the big books has been a nebulous monster since first conception. I’ve always had a solid idea for the first book where my character discovers who he is, and then the third book, where he escapes from imprisonment to overcome the bad guys and exits the public eye.

But the second book? In the early conception (23 years ago) it was a history book following my character’s mother and her love triangle. That idea failed pretty quickly. Oh, she still had the love triangle, but there’s no plot to support writing a story about it.

The next iteration put the focus on my character stepping into a leadership role. I managed to jot down some scenes in the fancy new Google Docs (14 years ago) that detailed his experiences. But it suffered from the same issue as the first concept: there was no plot.

Ten years ago, I started to put serious effort toward getting down words. After I finished book 1, I had to overhaul it because the trusted friends I asked to read it absolutely hated it. This had a trickle effect into book 2, and by my first NaNoWriMo (8 years ago), I’d developed something resembling a plot that included monsters.

NaNoWriMo had me pantsing my way through events and that led to a necessary timeline revision (3 years ago) as I tried to make my multi-POV subplots mesh correctly. I finished that revision last December (1 year ago) and optimistically sent my beta readers a copy in February of this year.

Two weeks later, I pulled it back.

I’ve gotten better at writing since the beginning (one would hope that’s the case), allowing me to see bigger picture issues. My main character’s subplot didn’t focus on those monsters I mentioned and though the story worked, it made me uneasy. After mulling it over, I knew what changes were needed, and I set about avoiding actually implementing them (the pandemic hit and I lost all my personal writing time from late March to mid June, so that might have something to do with it). When I finally got around to doing the rewrites, I stalled out. Twice. I couldn’t figure out how to get a bit of information into the story naturally, and then I couldn’t figure out how to get my main character in a place where he could find this other character he needed to find.

Mid last month, I figured out how to fix it by swapping out one character for another. I’ve already rewritten two of my rewritten chapters, leaving two rewritten chapters still to rewrite, and then seven other chapters that will need reworked to reflect the subplot revision. (Enough re-words for ya?)

Am I an insecure writer? Heck yeah. I don’t know if I’ll finish my rewrites before the end of the year, which was my goal. And with all the trouble I’ve had with this book, it doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in the end result either. But dagnabbit, I will finish this dang book! And maybe, just maybe, it won’t be terrible.

IWSG Question of the Month – Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

It’s not a seasonal thing for me. When the clarity is there, the words are flowing. If I’m stuck on something (like all the issues in book 2), they’re not.

Do you know the plot of a book before going into it? Have you had issues with in-between books in a series? Have you had a story that’s been with you for a lifetime?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post The End Draws Near #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Dwelling on the Good Stuff #IWSG

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group day!

I want to start off this post by letting you all know that FULL DARK is celebrating it’s 3rd anniversary! It’s a benefit anthology where all the proceeds go to the Gary Sinise Foundation, and we’ve donated over $200 so far! Right now, it’s on sale, so if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to pick up a copy on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble.

After last month’s dip into a downward spiral, I’ve managed to pull myself up somewhat. I’ve actually started writing in Book 2 again! For a while there, it was flowing smoothly, but now I’m stalled out, trying to figure out the best place to work in a particular incident. I think I figured it out as of last night as I lay in bed, trying to convince myself to fall asleep because this time change has left me dragging at work. But you know how brains and thinking can be. I won’t know if I’ve really figured out the story incident until I try to write it at lunch today. But I can be hopeful, that it’ll work… unlike the last 3 times I tried to work it into the story.

On top of working on Book 2, I’ve also returned to my weight goals. I’ve lost 10lbs since the start of October, bringing me back down to my weight at the start of the year, but not down to my pre-pandemic weight yet. I’ve managed it through a combination of a couple of eating lifestyles. I’ve returned to the 16:8 plan (where I fast for 16 hours and then eat during an 8 hour window) and I’ve added in the 5:2 plan (eat normally 5 days out of the week and reduce calories down to 500 2 days out of the week). I’m also using my calories wisely, foregoing my daily 110 calorie Red Bull and drinking tea with no extra additives instead. I’ve also increased my amount of daily walking and have my son asking me every day if I’ve gotten my 6K steps in.

I also did my first art commission! The marvelous Chrys Fey reached out to me and asked if I might be willing to try my hand at her character, Avrianna Heavenborn.

It’s inspired me to return to art basics and focus on mastering figure drawing, which in turn ignited my mind with a side passion project that I visualize as a digital art book of my writing world. But to get there, I need to be able to consistently produce character art, plus move into environments. I don’t particularly enjoy practice work like this, but I think it’ll help me improve in the long run.

IWSG Question of the Month – Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?

I’ve long since had a group of characters in my brain, their story vivid, though some of the details change over time. I write because of them, to bring them to life. I might not be a prolific writer, or even a good writer. I don’t respond well to prompts and contests make me cringe. But someday, I’ll get my books done, and maybe others will enjoy them as well.

Why do you write? What do your goals look like now that the year is almost over? What’s some of the good stuff in your life?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post Dwelling on the Good Stuff #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

OUAW Release and #IWSG

I’m posting a day early for Insecure Writer’s Support Group day, because I want to support my friend and critique partner Aldrea Alien in the release of Once Upon Another World. For only $0.99, you can get 20+ twisted fairytales from multiple authors, including Aldrea’s story Someone Else’s Shoes.

I hope you take a moment to go pick up a copy. I know I’ve already got mine!

As far as it being Insecure Writer’s Support Group day, well, I certainly fit the bill. A couple months back, I told all of you about the positive feedback I got for my chapters with my critique group. Well, they read the next two chapters last week and I’ve spent since then spiraling into a depressive funk. There’s been crying, drinking, binge eating, and punishing my body for the shortcomings of my brain (aka, exercise, which is actually a good thing).

I’m still not out of it.

One member of my group said, “I hope this doesn’t make you want to quit writing…” No, I won’t quit writing. I mean, I can’t. I’m not one of those writers who writes to tell stories. I’m one of those people who has characters in their brain and needs to keep pressing forward until the main character stands victorious over the enemy or slips off into the peace of the Great Beyond. Or both. Both might happen, but I don’t know yet. I don’t know yet because I haven’t written that far, therefore I can’t quit writing.

And because I want these books to be the best darn books I can produce, I won’t quit submitting these chapters to the group either. Heck, I’m the one who freaking created and manages the group because quality is important to me. I’ve just come to accept that quality writing/storytelling doesn’t come naturally to me.

So I’ve been overeating Sour Patch Kids and indulging in chocolate wine. And I’ve been rewriting. I’ve rewritten one of the two chapters they thought was so terrible that they would quit reading if this was a book they’d picked up off the shelf. I’m working on the other. This will have a trickle effect that means updates for five other chapters. On a positive note, I’m almost done with the first half of the book (Book 3; I still haven’t touched my rewrites due for Book 2). I’ve netted almost 50K since I started working on it in June. 50K of keepable content (subjectively speaking) in 3 months isn’t too shabby.

Have you ever been crushed by negative feedback? How do you cope? Did you pick up your copy of Once Upon Another World?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post OUAW Release and #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

I’ll See You In September #IWSG

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, meaning it’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day! Woot!

I netted 16K in August toward book 3, which is a decent chunk for me. If you’re wondering (which you probably aren’t) “what about book 2?”, well, I did convince myself that the changes I have planned (and have been avoiding) are still the way I want to go.

To streamline book 2, I intend to take out a subplot concerning an group of people getting sick. But by doing this, I’m removing a character (aka T) whom some readers said was a great character. That left me torn, but I reassured myself that it was in the best interest of the plot that I stick to my new plan.

As I’ve been writing in book 3, I started contemplating all of the different things that need to happen. D (the main character) needs R, but can’t go get R himself. The logical choice would be to send J, because J is R’s biological daughter. If I take out the subplot in book 2, it means J never mended the relationship she had with the people inhabiting R’s province. That sent my brain scrambling to work out the details because previously conceived ideas had J taking refuge with the people while on the run from book 3’s evil bad guys.

Then I had a great idea: Bring back T in the same role as he would’ve played in book 2, smoothing over the prickly relationship between J and the people, while helping J find R. The situation’s going to be grimmer, and the response from J at age 46 is going to be different from J at age 16. But T can be the same sensible, grandfatherly pacifist he was in book 2.

So raise a cheer because it means I’m still on the right path with book 2, even if I haven’t put down any words toward it in months.

Oh, and I finished two more digital paintings in August! Derek (my main character) and Return of the Dissidents (with itty-bitty J facing the dragon).

IWSG Question of the Month – If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

I’d go with Piers Anthony. I devoured his books and I gained an appreciation for the way he could tackle darker stuff in some books and keep it light and punny in others. I’d written him a couple of fan letters when I was younger and even gotten a response and a mention in Zombie Lover’s back book credits. So yeah, he’d be my choice.

On a personal note, I’d like to say that my parents are doing fantastic since my mom finished her treatments, and they’ve returned to traveling, sending me pictures of Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, and Old West Cody Wyoming. It’s great to see them thriving again.

Have you been making any progress with your work? Have you ever faced changing details across multiple books? Who would you choose as a beta partner?

The post I’ll See You In September #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.