Pickle of a Mess

I think I’ve written myself into a pickle of a mess. 

I’ve gone too far. 

It’s back to the drawing board.

Katherine and I met for one of our writing project meetings.  It’s become the habit to have her read out loud, so we can hear the flow of things.  In this last meeting, she’s reading the second children’s book.

We got through about half of the book before she had to head home.  So far, she really likes the story… but she sees a potential problem.

The tone of the book matches a 9 year old’s level, but Katherine’s afraid that the concepts in the book are more appropriate for 12 and up.   She’s telling me this BEFORE she’s even read the last part of the book, which (in my opinion) may be more of a problem than the part she’s read.

Yeah… I’ve written myself into a pickle of a mess…

Again, she likes the story, but she’s not 9 years old, nor is she 12 years old.  She’s thinking that the second book is going to be difficult to market… Do we market it to 9 year olds and dilute the story?  Do I bring up the tone’s level and market it to 12 year olds?

The second book starts right where the first book leaves off, so bringing the second book to a 12 year old’s level will create problems with the transition from the first book to the second book…

Yeah… I’ve written myself into a pickle of a mess…

Again, all this is guess work at this point.  We don’t really know how much a 9 year old can comprehend compared to a 12 year old.  And every child is different.  Some 9 year olds may get it, while some 12 year olds may not.  Even some adults may not get it.  It’s just all guess work at this point. 

This is where the testing and feedback from the young readers are invaluable.  That will tell me if I’ve gone too far… and if my writing hand’s stuck in the pickle jar or not.  

Granted, we haven’t gotten feedback from the first book yet, but once Katherine’s son finishes the first one, we can ask him if he’s willing to help us with the second one… 

As you know, patience isn’t a virtue I possess.  If you introduce a problem to me, I want to fix it… and fix it now.

I have to keep reminding myself that we’re not even sure there IS a problem or anything to fix… not just yet.

You should know me by now.  The fact that a problem doesn’t exist yet doesn’t stop me from trying to solve it. 

So, I’ve come up with three versions of the same book…

• The first version is the original… in all its twists and conflicts.  I, personally, like this version best… but I’m neither 9 nor 12.
• The second version changes the last section of the book.  The first half remains the same and has enough conflict and lessons to carry the book.  I’m hoping that rewriting the last part will keep the book alive.
• The third version takes out most of the conflicts that lives within the pages of the second book.  Once I take the conflicts out, I take out the lessons that went along with the conflicts.  By doing that, the book becomes void of purpose, void of emotion, and void of life.  I do not like this third version… and I don’t care if I’m not 9 or 12.  I do not like it!  I do not like it!  I do not like it!

So, if we can’t use either the first or second version, I will go back to the drawing board and rework the book to bring it back to life. 

But I can’t administer this form of CPR until I know the patient really needs it.

So, all I can do is wait… and continue to take its pulse…

I need to let Katherine actually finish reading the book and get her opinion.  I need to let our 9 year old readers review the book and get their diagnosis…

I can’t do anything but wait.

Yeah… patience isn’t one of my virtues…

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