Nothing at all to get discouraged about, TB. Organisation is mainly cosmetic. Were there suggestions about arranging it?

I have a rough draft of a piece from my new book, if anyone has time to beta. I'm feeling that it's a bit hackish in that it doesn't seem fluid to me. I don't think I'm making my point well, never mind eloquently. And I've been beating the shit out of this thing all day. Seems time for a fresh pair of eyes.

I'm not dissing it - I'm just saying I'm not usually in that particular section of the bleachers.

Oh, I know. I was just saying, I have to be grateful for them.

Please tell me this is the time to get stoked, not discouraged.

Definitely be encouraged! Rearranging isn't as hard as it seems.

I have a rough draft of a piece from my new book, if anyone has time to beta.

Happy to, if you want to send it to my profile address. What's this one about?

Allyson, you know I'll beta anything you want to send. Yes, please.

I wrote three thousand words on London Calling last night. Started out as clues and plot stuff and became a very complex interweave of undercurrents between the characters, including Patrick Ormand (there are those here in the Patrick Fan Club), and JP's realisation why he's never going to be able to trust the guy completely.

Nic liked it. I got two hours, back and forth to feed our feral cat colony in San Jose, about why the chapter works on different levels.

I love it when that shit happens subconsciously. I also love it when I type a word like "subconsciously" and then wonder why it looks misspelled, no matter what I do to it.

Amy, BTW, have you got more for me to look at? Am reading erika's at the moment, in between holiday stuff, so things are taking me a bit longer than usual.

Amy, BTW, have you got more for me to look at?

Not at the moment. I started work on the new under-contract book, but I don't really need feedback on that. Or not yet, at least.

I want to revise some of the last thing you read -- the chick lit thing -- and maybe add a prologue, and then do the next chapter, but that won't be until maybe over the weekend. Then I'd love for you to read it. If the Epic thing doesn't fly, I want to send the chick lit out next.

I love it when that shit happens subconsciously.

Me, too. I had a lightbulb moment with regard to the characters in the new book, as I lay in bed the other night. Was just mulling the theme, and what connects them (and also where they conflict), and had that "Aha!" moment where I totally got the thread that ties everything together.

At least, I hope it does.

I had a lightbulb moment with regard to the characters in the new book, as I lay in bed the other night. Was just mulling the theme, and what connects them (and also where they conflict), and had that "Aha!" moment where I totally got the thread that ties everything together.

At least, I hope it does.

My sister!

You know what's nuts-making? When you have an entire scene in your head, all there, how it works, the why, the language, the voice in place, it's a huge crashing major moment in the book....

And it's for two books up the line from the one you're working on.

GAH.

And it's for two books up the line from the one you're working on.

See, with me, it's for books I don't have a contract for. Yes, I'm supposed to be writing them first, and yes, I did start the first one, but in my head, all the really good stuff is brewing for the Epic book, and the chick lit book, and this YA book I've had on a back burner for about four years now.

Which probably means those are the books I *should* be writing, but I've got to take my money where I can, you know?

See, with me, it's for books I don't have a contract for.

I did that with Cruel Sister. I feel your pain.

Actually, right now, I've got NOTHING under contract. So on the one hand, I can write what wants out, but on the other?

Come, onnnnnnnnnnnnn, Jenn....

Organisation is mainly cosmetic. Were there suggestions about arranging it?

Yes, the macro organzation is fine. It is the medium organization that is bad.

OK this is book making a long and fairly controversial argument step by step.

So think about it this way:

To Prove: X

To prove X you need to prove A,B,C,D,...

For Each A, B,C,D, etc. you need to prove 1,2,3 etc.

OK so my approach was

Make clear what X was

Chapter A State 1, evidence for 1, ojections to 1, rebuttal of objections, 2

It was pointed out to me that the reader is going to get lost.

What I need to do is Outline X, and state that to prove X I have to prove A, B, C etc in the INTRODUCTION. In others lay out the whole chain of logic in the introduction.

Then in chapter A, say oK I need to prove 1,2,3 ect. to prove A. Only after outlining the whole chain of logic for chapter A do I provide the evidence, then deal with objections and rebutals to objections. So that by the time someone lookes at an empirical fact they know exactly what is for, and how it relates to other facts. Otherwise it just looks like constant digression and digression from the digressison. I think he is dead on about the problem. The solution certainly is one way to tackle, probably the best way. I've already had to reorganize a few times, so I''m letting it digest before setting proceding. I think what I'll do is create a new outline before I start actually moving material around. But before I do that I'm letting the material cool off over the weekend - talking about it ,but not reading or touching, so that it is a bit fresher to me when I start the new outline.

It was pointed out to me that the reader is going to get lost.

Yes. And yes, also, on the letting it settle and taking a breather so that it isn't completely as-is front and centre in your frontal lobes.

Have you considered working with someone in the field on this? Another writer on the subject, or an academic?