Going down, hold onto me,

I’m going down, and down and down . . .

Almost disappearing, doing the vanishing act, down the tube . . .

Where to this time? Into the WIP The Third Moment now into it’s final draft stage prior to editing (and this time, it will be the structural edit that is first, then the others).

It’s printed out, the words are there in black ink on white paper, the outline and ‘markers’ for the story are in the notepad, ready to keep the story (me, really) on track, disallowed from wandering off down the wrong path, the irrelevant (story) path – and the RED pen sits there, waiting, like a beacon.

It’s a good thing – the draft is complete (again) and ready to be investigated, to be made into the best story, interesting, unique, compelling.

But of course, I can’t tell that – not yet. It takes some distance, and some time, and some clarity (usually from another voice – and not the one in the writer’s head) to impart that necessary constraint, to give a reader’s eye view of the attributes and sense and purpose of the story.

So I have to step back, hand over the ‘draft’ to someone who’ll read it like a true reader, but also like a mentor, a teacher, the person who picks apart the threads that don’t belong, or don’t say what they should (what the writer thought they said).

And when this happens (thick skin required), I have to consider that the story is its own life; once the words are put together into the ‘product’ it’s not mine – it has its own life and reason for being, which is why it’s so important that it be compelling.

I know the idea is something distinctly Australian, a bit new (yes, I know – same, but different) in terms of idea, but the story is still one of the many tropes – could it be Monster? or Horror (not splatter)? or . . .

This is the time to seriously consider how I label this story with a genre (or genres) so it can go out with the right readers in mind – so they can find it. It’s something I have trouble with, so I’ve asked the reader/s to try that hat on, too. I wonder what they’ll come back with? Will it be the same as I think? Or will it be something else? Will it be compelling? or interesting? or . . . not?

This is the time to find these things out, to prepare for and manage the implementation of the concept of words that compel and propel the story from one point to another – before it vanishes into the abyss with the hundreds of thousands of other titles out there that aren’t . . .