For my "too action packed story" I've come to realize that there was a decision I made about halfway through the story that derailed the characterization and created the action packed mess I discussed in an earlier blog. I should have gone with my original instinct for more talking and less fighting.
While working on the scene today I wondered what a lot of writers probably wonder -- if I trusted my gut the first time around, would it have saved me a lot of time? The ironic thing is that it most likely wouldn't have. If I had gone with my gut, I know that I wouldn't have trusted it and would have eventually gone back and written the drowning/fighting sequence as well.
Sometimes writing is more like putting together an evil jigsaw puzzle -- the kind where, just for fun, some sadist has added pieces that don't actually fit and were never meant for your puzzle. Trust your gut to help you figure out which pieces don't fit and then use them in another puzzle, just to spite the evil puzzle-master.
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