Editing

The second half of Book One contains long conversations between King Solomon and his son, Menelik. In the previous draft, those talks are spread over several consecutive chapters—totaling approximately 33,000 words—and there is very little change of location in them. Even though many different matters are being discussed, that's far too much of the same activity in one place, wouldn't you say?  So now I am trying to break that cluster of chapters up and move some of them closer to the front of the book. This means I'll have to create half a dozen new settings (and reasons) for those chats and edit out all references to events that will soon no longer precede those relocated conversations. Ooh, that's gonna be so much fun, baby... not!! ;-)

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When you are a writer, all your clothes are work clothes.

A thought on writing

Every single page in your book ought to have a redeeming quality. It must contain something that justifies its presence there. Perhaps not each of them can be filled with riveting action or profound thoughts, but in the very least it should feature a few lines that cause the reader to pause and marvel at the beauty of the language.