The seventh Nick Forte novel, Underworld, is all but complete. The only thing left to do is the proofread, which can wait until after Bouchercon and C3 next month.
Except for Chapter 44, which is breaking my balls like a
bastard.
Here’s the deal: Chapter 44 takes place right after a major
plot development. Forte needs a break, and readers probably won’t mind taking a
breath while they absorb what just happened. Forte stops by his favorite sports
bar to unwind a little with the barmaid. It’s a light, entertaining scene that lays
the groundwork for a relationship that unfolds in the next book. There’s no plot
development; the book will make sense without it.
And it’s too long. It was half again as long as it is now,
and it’s still too long. Lots of writers I respect would say to cut the
chapter. Nothing truly important happens and it will streamline the entire
book. This option is still on the table.
The thing is, the book is already just shy of 48,000 words.
It’s already as streamlined a book as I have written.
And it’s a good chapter. It’s funny, and the dynamic between
Nick and Wendy is exactly what I wanted. I’ve already killed about 33% of the
darlings in this chapter. How many more can die before the chapters no longer
worth keeping is a reasonable question.
I finished the other 63 chapters four days ago. Chapter 44 won’t
let me go. I’ll take a look today to see what else I can cut without damaging
the context of the parts I want to keep. Among the legion of benefits of not
having to deal with publishers is I can take as long as I feel I need to fix
this.
I have for years believed that if a sentence refuses to be
edited into something better, the problem may well be it’s a shitty sentence;
cut the whole thing and see if I miss it. I may apply that principle to Chapter
44 if it’s still vexing me in a few days.
Just when I think I have a book under control, I get
Roseannadanna’d.
It’s always something.
