Sometimes it's absolutely necessary to make major changes to scenes you've already written...but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. I mean, strengthening a scene is always a good thing, but working on the same chapter or scene over and over again to get it right can be mind-numbing.

For me, it's Chapter 17 of TOPAZ. I'm currently on my third version, and there will be a fourth created today. I had it all written out before I made some major revisions to Chapter 15, which had a trickle-down effect through the following chapters—but that's okay, because I think Chapter 15 is one of the strongest chapters in the book now. Chapter 16 needed to be rewritten as well, but it's better than the original too.

But Chapter 17...is giving me a headache.

For reference, Chapter 17 is the home of Faith and Jason's love scene. So that makes it tough enough (for the record, love scenes are difficult to write!). I came up with a great way to amp up the sexual tension, only to realize it wasn't logical (for a number of reasons). So back to the proverbial drawing board we go.


TOPAZ status: Stuck in Chapter 17 hell!