It can happen in a flash

And just like that, a solution that’s been plaguing me for a year has popped into my mind.

I’ve been thinking a lot about TDBD, and whether it is worthwhile pursuing completion on a story that stopped having meaning for me during The Unfortunate Events with the Publishing Company.

I knew something was off with the story before I sent it in to The Publisher (at their request – they knew it wasn’t ready), but was hopeful that in conjunction with the editor they were to assign to me, the solution would become clear.  It never became clear. After months of hearing, ‘we love it, readers will love it, we love it’ being told ‘fix it, rewrite it, you’ve got 6 weeks’ irked me badly.  Yes, the 6 weeks was an unrealistic expectation on their part, but MY expectation of the story was so much greater than theirs ever was.  I knew the story wasn’t working, and I knew I needed more than 6 weeks to fix it.  It’s taken me months since the termination of my publishing agreement to even realize what the problem is!

Their loss… and the subject of separate blog post for a different time.

What I just realized is that the story isn’t going to work as it stands now.  Not as a novel.  Half of the story is missing.  Basically, I’ve got an strong A storyline, and no B storyline – not even a minor one!  I don’t think the flashback storyline counts as I thought it once did.  The A is good, but without B it’s worthless.  I have a vague notion of how to restructure to incorporate that B line, but it’s yet to be fleshed out in my brain.

So for now, I feel comfortable saying I’ve written a novel and a half, and I’ll let the B line continue to percolate in the background of my brain until it chooses to peek out and wave me down.  I’ve got other stories to be told.  What form they’ll take, I’ve no idea but I’m hearing those voices…

It will.

I have faith.