This Was Not Great

Or, Never Lose Your Outlines!

So, that didn't work out very well. I've been spending the last few weeks slowly but steadily working on a new Amelia City story to share here to my Substack, and as I finally came back to it after a few days, letting the finished tale sit out of sight for a bit so that I could come back and eyeball it properly, I have come to one bitter realization:

This story, in its current form, is steaming garbage. I have rarely felt so disappointed in myself as I do now, looking at this 11k word literary miscarriage, stinking up my documents folder on the hard drive. I've got a solid start, some well-crafted moments, but 70-80% of what I have here is poorly constructed, has multiple redundancies of word selection, a couple of glaring internal story contradictions, and two minor characters who got WAY more physical description than they needed, since the characters themselves are toss-aways.

There's a few solid bits and pieces I can salvage from this thing, but I have GOT to do a ground-up rewrite, and avoid straying so far from my initial concept notes and outline (which I had misplaced shortly after starting work on the story). I have a process, and I DIDN'T follow it, and the results were well beneath what people deserve from me.

I'm sorry about the long delay, folks. I try not to just toss whatever comes from me out there without making damned certain that it will be worth your time.

Cheers, and Merry Christmastime