This is KAMWyland, and you're listening to the 93rd episode of the Word Play Podcast.

Did I say I finished with my historical work in progress,

the deepest breaths first draft?

Afraid I lied about that one.

I settled myself down this week for the first round of edits with my so-called first draft,

only to discover at the end of the first read-through that the story isn't quite as finished

as I had thought.

I realized, after much historionic sobbing, so I had thought. I realized, after much

histronic sobbing, screaming, and fainting, that in order for the

story to reach its full potential, it needed to lose about 20,000 words of

fat and gain 40,000 words of muscle. I find it just slightly ironic, or

maybe that's just the hysterics speaking, that my last book ended up being so long that

I had to cut 40,000 words, and this one ends up being 40,000

words too short.

So for the first time in my writing life, I'm going back to the drawing board to figure out

how to add words to a formally completed manuscript.

Wish me luck, since I'm sure I'm in for another wild ride.

Are digressive subplots sinking your story?

The latest post in the video series on my blog

shows how writers can learn from the movie like Dandelion Dust

in keeping extraneous subplots from bogging down our stories.

You can watch the video on my blog at wordplay-K-M-Yland, that's W-E-I-L-A-N-D.

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