Dear Writers

I'm more than halfway through my current manuscript, and I'm coming across something I've never come across before. I'm seeing what major revisions to make to tighten up the piece before I even finish it. There are some characters I want to combine, a few to cut, and some moments to cut, and add.

Usually, when writing, I just plug forward, use the characters I have and try to come to an ending. Then I worry about revision.

But this time it's gnawing at me. I've tried to ignore it and wait until I'm done to make the changes. After all, I'm working without an outline. What if the characters I'm thinking of combining really separate themselves and both become important to the plot?

What if the characters I was going to do away with completely does the same thing?

But, instead, I find myself ignoring these characters, not giving them the depth they need.

And I'm constantly wondering if I should go back and revise before I continue. Will it help me get to the ending I want to get to? Or will it just muck everything up?

What do you think?

Random Thoughts from a Honeymoon Cruise

That's right, I'm married!

In fact, if you've been wondering where I've been for the past 4 (whoa... four??) months, it's been planning a wedding and writing.

Now that I'm back from the honeymoon, I'm hoping to start blogging with some more regularity. That said, the wife and I took a cruise to Bermuda, and here is basically what I'd be posting to Twitter, if my phone had worked:

-No, seriously, do not flush foreign objects down the toilet.

-Playing the theme from TITANIC during dinner is probably the worst choice this cruiseline could make.

-We had the best sommelier. He remembered our drink order from night to night and had a catch phrase. "And enjoy. CHEERS!"

-Being on a cruise is like starring in all the non-explosion parts of a James Bond movie.

-There's a dance called the Cuban Shuffle?

-Apparently every book that's not downloaded to a Kindle, iPad, or Nook has a title that starts with THE GIRL WHO...

-Just talked a woman into buying my book on her Kindle... right now. ABC. (More on this at Do Some Damage, later this week.)

-Wait. It's called the Cupid Shuffle? And it sucks.

-Dear band, you do not have to teach the crowd how to participate to "Sweet Caroline."

-You know you're drunk on a boat in rough waters when you're the only one walking straight.

-Bacon!

-Pizza!

-Frog legs, delicious, Quail, meh, and escargot, DELICIOUS.

-BACON!

-PIZZA!!

-I wish we were not the most recently married couple at this party. The champagne sucks!

-Another character with a catch phrase. The entertainment director asked everyone HOWZIT!

-MINI DONUTS!

-Good thing everyone in Bermuda honks their horn at other drivers. I keep forgetting they drive on the left.

-Why are there no sidewalks in Bermuda?

-Mmmmmmm, Dockyard Beer. The only brewpub in Bermuda and I found it.

-Interestingly, rough seas do not affect the rotation of a roulette wheel or roulette ball.

-ENOUGH WITH THE CUPID SHUFFLE!

-Water: cold. Sun: hot. Sand: pink.

-Duty free scotch and cuban cigars... niceeeeeeeee.

-Fingers crossed that customs does not look for my Cuban Cigars.

-BACON! PIZZA!