I'm sitting here, after dinner, my window is open, and across the road are the farmers--a huge tractor and a semi with an open trailer. Into it the trailer the tractor dumps harvested corn, and it sounds nearly like small pebbles going in, hitting against the metal.
These are sounds of autumn I remember growing up with. Something I know I missed when I lived in town. I did not like living in town where I couldn't see a sun rise or sun set. The farmers--you know they do feed the world!--are busy now. Trying to get in the harvest. There's a lot to get done, as yet!
And me. My harvest is still a work in progress.
I'm pages--PAGES! away from finishing "Crypt of Death" (formerly known as Vampire/Dhampire Legacy).
This book has been a marathon. Actually it's been more like a triathlon from hell. Only, not so much hell as pure work. I've touched on the history of this book once or twice before, so I won't go into that here. Coming up with the ending of any book can be exasperating, unless you know in advance what you want to do. In this one. No. I had some ideas, which were trashed many times. I've rewritten the thing so much that it's sort of like taking old clothes and making new ones out of them, and trying to hide the wear and tear and patches. That will be my hocus pocus on this, and if I succeed, then, well, that's just half of it.
So, I've worked along these past few days, knowing the ending was right over the next hump. I worked slowly, made notes for the next scenes, wrote them, and halted, and had to think about how to end this thing. There's probably something in a seasoned writer where they know they'd better stop where they are and think about it. Which is what I do. I don't want to keep on writing and see that it's all crap the next day. Not that I don't go over my previous day's work and rewrite. But I don't like scrapping what I've written, unless it definitely has to go.
Speaking of which, I did scrap about 10 pages in the earlier part of the book, because I felt it went nowhere, and what was covered could be covered in less pages. Plus, I know no one will miss it. I'll have to go through the whole thing again when I've come back to this. Possibly when snow is flying.
At the moment, this 500 page monster is my supernatural thriller which I have to bring to a satisfying close, and as I sat reading a novel with a glass of wine earlier this evening, I made more notes as to what had to happen in Crypt. I already knew who and what days ago, it was the how, and at what point these things take place that was thumbing its nose at me. But, I think I've got it to where I can finally write the ending, and put it to bed for a few months. I don't plan on pushing it on to my publisher until next year, so I've got plenty of time.
Ah. The farm equipment has moved further out into the field, and the semi, which was loaded down has gone back to the grain bins to unload it. He'll be back. I've a feeling I'll be hearing them well into the night, here. Nice, comforting thought of things coming to a close, getting something which was hard work, now taking shape and you know will be done.
Good night, and sleep well, my friends!