I’ve
mentioned before that I enjoy putting jigsaw puzzles together. In fact, my love
of puzzles is part of why I became a lawyer. The most interesting legal
problems are the ones where you have to sift through the facts and arrange them
into a cohesive story that creates a picture of the law.
Novel-writing
is like that, too. Every piece must fit seamlessly into the story to create a
complete picture. Red herrings have their place, but pieces that don’t fit must
be set aside. Sometimes it’s as if two jigsaw puzzles have been put into the
same box. I must separate the pieces before I can start either puzzle. Or maybe
it’s just a few random pieces that found their way into that box. Either way,
if they don’t fit, they should be discarded.
This
needs to be done with caution, however, because there are also pieces that don’t
seem to belong but do. I may have to wait until the puzzle is almost finished
before I know where they go. Still, the story isn’t complete without them.
Nobody enjoys looking at—or reading—a puzzle with gaps.
Writing
isn’t easy, and the ideas don’t always flow sequentially. But when the pieces
finally fall into place, they create a beautiful picture.
That’s
why I love to write.
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