So, this story I've been working on...

A couple of weeks ago, it passed the 13,000 word mark -- which makes it about a quarter as long as a decent-sized novel -- and then I ran into a brick wall.

The original concept was that I was going to write four longish stories. One for each of the sentient non-human races on the world K.T. created. This was the second story.

But I reached the best stopping point for this story quite a while ago -- and then kept going. Because I knew what was going to happen next, so I wrote that. And while I was writing that, some other characters started telling me their stories.

And then I realized that I really couldn't finish the story, as it was, and still have it even close to "story" length. I was left with a choice: Either slice off the bit I'd just written and end it at what had been the best stopping point... or turn this story into a novel project.

And I've been floundering for two weeks on that choice. I didn't want to do another novel. I like writing short fiction. I liked the concept of the four stories, as a counterpoint to K.T.'s novel, intersecting but not really related to it.

But I also like the bit I wrote that I'd have to cut off to keep it a story. And I like the history that the characters are telling me that I wouldn't be able to show.

But if I went to the novel, Karen would have to stop reading, because this novel would contain certain spoilers for K.T.'s. And she's been helpful, in the past, with suggestions and such.

But...

But...

But...

I think yesterday I finally caved in and decided to turn it into a novel. Which decision was hurried along by the crystalization of an idea to tie the two sub-plots together very neatly.

Which, first of all, means I have to get the timeline straightened out. There's some contradictions here and there that weren't going to matter in a story, but they're the sort of error that are going to just magnify with time, so they need to be ironed out before I go back to re-write.

And in the meantime, I'm germinating a seed of an idea for a different story for that race, because I still really like the four-story concept.

One of these days, I'll get back to my own writing world. No really. I mean it.

--Liz