The above is a colored map I did back in February, when I was planning to completely revamp it. But then as I'd faced the project at my computer, I'd decided not to shift the format of my 3-part ms, which made the mapping unnecessary. All those nifty post-it notes have been on that whiteboard for over two months, while I've worked on show not tell, dialogue tags and dialogue beats.
Natalie Palmer, who is on new baby hiatus, kindly did a critique for me. It's funny because my hubby tends to be very protective of my writing, so I don't always read him feedback I receive. It makes him mad. He likes my story just the way it is. But, no offense, he doesn't have particularly discerning tastes either--he's very easy to please. I did read Natalie's review to him, and he kept nodding his head and muttering, "Yes. Yes." for most of it. So hubby's made a mental leap in my behalf and is willing to recognize ways I can make it better.
As I considered Natalie's observations, I realized that the best way to remedy some of them would be to do shifting around of the story. So I'm back to my story map and glad I hadn't gotten around to putting all those little post-its in a folder as I'd intended.
I've been on vacation and/or sick for two weeks. I've managed to read four books (The Mage's Daughter, Princess of the Sword, Starship Troopers, and I Am Not a Serial Killer) and I've started another (City of Fallen Angels). I'm feeling rejuvenated (kinda--if I can throw off the vestiges of this dang cold and quit hacking up my lungs every morning) and ready to move ahead and get back to work. Funny what a difference a few days can make.
I really appreciate all the supportive and encouraging comments from everyone when I was having my pity party the other day. I'll close this post with a quote from my friend Robin Weeks:
Remember the definition of a published author:
One who doesn't give up.
