A Tale of Two Scenes
Added 2021-11-28 06:09:31 +0000 UTCAs most readers probably know or have guessed by now, occasionally there are scenes in my books which - as in movies - ultimately end up on the cutting room floor. Basically, for whatever reason, the action or dialogue may change or get deleted altogether. However, instead of simply writing over those portions of a story, I started keeping them in hopes of possibly using some portion later (and also, I must admit, for nostalgia).
For instance, a few months back I posted an alternate scene from Coronation. (It's essentially another take on how Jim became engaged to Myshtal.) To be honest, when I looked at again, I realized that I liked it - a lot. It added a great degree of color and context to Jim's experience on Caeles - things that were probably more nuanced in the novel itself.
In retrospect, I'm happy with the book as written and including the alternate scene wouldn't have really changed the story, but I liked that it seemed to provide a bit more insight into the storyline. In other words, all roads lead to Rome, but maybe what you see along the way matters.
In short, like most authors, I'm trying to tell the best story possible. Needless to say, that's far from easy - especially when you have two or more ideas pulling you in different directions - but it's an absolute blast when things finally come together. However, it's hard not to second-guess choices when looking back, but in the end I suppose the reader is the final arbiter. More to the point, I feel blessed in that readers seem to like my work, and for that you have my utmost thanks.
