When three is four

Over the past week I have been working on the muddle of Monarch.  You will find the crux of any story in the muddle (or middle).  Set between the beginning and the end, muddles can bring a story to a halt.  It can leave a writer languishing through details and pleading for an escape.  But make no mistake; if one plans to write or read a story, you’ll need to make your way through the muddle. 

 When I sat down to begin writing I saw the novel in three distinct parts – each part running approximately 200 pages.  This way I could then release each part separate from one another as individual e-books.  But as I have worked my way further into the rewrite I’ve become aware that I may actually have four parts instead of three.  After making the necessary changes, the four parts are still similar in length to one another (now from around 100 -150 pages each), yet with each subsequent part longer than the last, like an ascending staircase.

This way might actually work out better. Thinking back to what my original paradigm looked like, having four parts now makes more sense.  It originally had three parts, but each part was preceded by a stage, the first part with two stages.  This way, I simply shift the stages, ever so slightly, and voila – four stages or parts.   Three is now four. 

Later in the week I will be updating last week’s post about the Oscar’s Best Picture race after watching Winter’s Bone.   Until then, Happy Valentine’s Day!

-aap