Inspiration in Florida

While I was in Florida, I reflected a lot on the plot of my current manuscript.  I knew I needed to do some cutting.  There were certain elements that didn’t add up.

But I looooooved Cooper’s new friend.

And I loooved the subplot.

Certainly there had to be a way to keep it all?

So walked with my camera and thought.

And I thought.

And I thought.

Somewhere towards the end of my stay, I sat on the deck behind my in-laws house, laptop in my . . . well . . . lap.  The afternoon sun was waning.  Breeze blew through the palm trees.  Birds I didn’t recognize flitted and chirped.  The anoles skittered.  One even crawled up on my chair to sit next to me on the armrest.

I was still pondering; unsure that what I was doing was for the best of the story.  Was I simplifying it too much?

Then an elegant snowy egret landed in the little canal beside me.

He meandered up, across and down the canal.  As he moved along, he took his yellow foot and  tapped the bottom of the canal, stirring it up.  He’d tap here.  He’d tap there, looking for something good to eat.

Every few taps, he’d lunge forward to eagerly feast on what he’d stirred up.

It sounds corny, but I realized that’s what I needed to do.  I needed to stir things up.  Tap a little here.  Tap a little there.  See what rose to the surface.  Then lunge on what was working.

And so far, it’s working well!  I like the direction this manuscript is taking!

Wish me luck!  I hope to plow through the new first draft by the end of the month.    I’ll keep you posted . . .