Paksworld

Now at page 760, though I left some unfinished business a couple of chapters back…needed more stewing over.   For one thing, the chronology of the various POVs, though accurate, is reading “off.”   This is always the most difficult part, for me, of writing in multiple viewpoints…the viewpoint shifts can’t violate the real chronology of the story but at the same time, exact one-to-one correspondence would make the book full of “Meanwhile, back at the ranch” paragraphs every page or so.    Sections must be long enough to give flow, but not so long that the next POV change requires a flashback-type transition.

Another factor to consider is where I am in relation to the end of the book.   Ideally, the last 100-200 pages are a smooth gallop to the finish line, with no interruptions to trip the reader.  A little uncertainty (on the reader’s part) and some twisting trails through the underbrush are OK in midbook, if they’re not tedious (tedious for the reader is never a g0od thing)  but I personally like books that, as the distant spire sticks up out of the haze (so to speak), line out and make a run for it.

I think I need to rearrange a couple of chapters to let that happen in the most satisfying way.