(Or, an exercise in excisement.) Excited? No. Current mood: resolute.

So, in a previous post I mentioned the sag in my plot. Well, spent the afternoon in the back yard, in the glorious sun, talking my plot out loud to myself, and writing notes. The large maple tree shedding bits of itself, I lay on the straw mat, brushing off ants and aphids from my bare legs and back as I revisited character  motivation, conflicting character agendas, etc. writing in long-hand in my notebook. It was so beautiful again today. Especially with the knowledge that the ceiling of clouds will be descending upon us soon, for the next five months. When I faced skyward, some of the falling leaves twirled toward me, stem-first, like a kind of parachute. I caught them by their stems before they touched the ground. This had me gleeful and whooping aloud.

But the plot. Ohhhhhh,  dear plot.

I have to cut out an entire section. But one can’t just cut and then sew the two remaining narrative edges together. An entirely new section has to be written to fit seamlessly in the gap. So seamlessly that no one will notice! I’m not talking one chapter. Maybe three or four! (*o*)`  I’m not looking forward to this, but my gut tells me it will make the story stronger, and eliminate the middle-of-the-book sag. I can do all this because we requested a leeetle extension. <grin> Which was generously granted.

(But I’ll be damned if I give up my quintuptlets!!! I am NOT going to edit out my quintuplets!!! Fingers crossed. I love them so!)

But tonight, going to catch SFU’s writer-in-residence, Lisa Robertson’s inaugural reading. And then hoping to dash to the VAG in time to catch some of the exhibition opening. Friend, Laiwan, has a piece there. And Song Dong’s Waste Not is being featured.