It’s October. The veil between worlds is thin, and the old gods demand tribute. Blood will flow! Muahahahahahaa! Maybe I should have waited to post this until tomorrow, Friday the 13^th (or lucky you to the Australian readers), To post my sacrifice piece. Okay, not a blood sacrifice, but I donated part of my soul to the cause.

It doesn’t happen a lot, and maybe it should more often. I don’t know. I had spent a fair amount of time writing chapter 42. One of the last chapters in “Emergence Ascended.” I am wrapping up the main conflict and setting up for the satisfying conclusion that will make or break my book. Nothing is worse than getting invested in a story only to have it fall flat in the end. (my new fear). I recently watched a movie that did just that, though I can’t remember the name because I try to forget disappointment.

The chapter flowed well and had all the elements I was hoping for. The tone was right, and I think it invoked the emotion I was trying to instill. Then, I deleted it. I even set up for it a couple times in earlier chapters (I had to go back and change those breadcrumbs, too)

It was painful. I do not get much time to write (this book could have been completed a year ago, to be honest), so the writing I do accomplish is precious. I deleted it because, even though I knew where I was going, it didn’t read like I wanted when I got there. My inner critic told me things like, “It’s pretentious, expository, and leaned too heavily on outside references.”   DELETE.

Sometimes, sacrifices are needed, and some are even worth it. So, I have mixed feelings, but the strongest is eagerness. Excitement to take another approach. I am so close to the end, its worth my effort to make sure the reader gets the best out of me.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my post!