I’m in the middle of redrafting an Epic Fantasy called Book of Secrets, I realized I was missing something. After the mid-point I had this list of things that the man POV character did, but they felt author driven and not character driven.
Trying to link them together I kept having this phrase pop in my head. HTF. How the Freak did Joshua get here? Or to say it differently, what motivated him to make the choices that led him to this spot.
Because of asking these questions and aligning them I’ve had to cut two scene that I really love. They have a magic fight and a leprechaun at a Gala that resulted in a side quest. (Every book needs that. 😉 )
I had to cut out large sections of the beginning of my short story and when I got to where Jake was doing his thing, it made no sense. Now I have to figure out a new way to introduce him. In one way that is good because I needed to lengthen the story. I put that work aside and decided work on a different short story. Three days later, the edited copy is still sitting untouched beside my computer. Maybe tomorrow. Good luck with your writing.
That is rough. I just tell myself I’ll use the cut scenes in another story. 🙂
I did save deleted portions of another book to use in something else. That was several years ago! I call myself a writer but I think dabbler might be a better word. It gives me something to do with my time and, who knows, I might accidentally get published one day!