My apologies to my readers. This has been a super busy week and I am putting some finial touches on a self-defense presentation that will occur June 6. Please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for more information.

You may have read in one of my “Coffee with David” blogs that I have been studying a new process of plotting and how I have been reevaluating my goals. While it can be argued that what I am about to say is “author’s prejudice,” I see a lot of potential in this dystopian tale and yet see where I have missed the mark. Reading it at open mic nights is exposing some of the flaws in the character development that I would like to fix. The plot is generally strong—but it is not strong enough. Knowing this, I am placing the novelette into the tomb—taking it out for open mic nights—until I finish my redrafting of the novel Dark Medicine.

I want to go back through the plot and strengthen up those areas I have missed. It is still early days in my work on the new version of Dark Medicine, and I am making changes to the plot method as I go, but I already see how this will improve it.

Some months from now, you will see a new blog on The Indebted. It will come back from the tomb and be rewritten stronger than before.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for updates to blogs, novels, and short stories that I am working on.

I have recently received “The Last Friend” back from my editor. After twenty-one drafts, I rolled my eyes at a comment. I didn’t roll my eyes in a “oh, they have no idea” kind of way, but in a “oh, why didn’t I catch this and how do I fix it?”

The reason I send my stories out to be read by others and then to an editor before I submit something to try to have it published is to find out what I didn’t catch. Some writers do not like using editors. Maybe they don’t need them. Perhaps they have a mental copy of Strunk and White in their minds—or maybe they are too sensitive to possible criticism. All I know is that I want to produce quality stories. The slush piles in publishing houses are filled with submissions from the highly talented and professional to the guy who thought writing was easy. The number one way to stand out is to make the story’s quality stand out. That means trusting your editor.

So, back to work on “The Last Friend” I go. The problem is minor, but should be interesting to see how I fix it.

Thank you for reading. Please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for updates on the blogs, novels and short stories that I write.