Dear Diary,

I’ve finally gotten a portrait for character Shanti Bickler done. She’s the last one for the mystery I’m writing. Shanti’s already on the page and I do think her character is important – but as this is a short story, I’m constantly thinking about what I might have to cut.

The trick here – for me – is to keep this to about a 15 minute read. That’s my goal for this particular story. I find it’s very hard to keep my stories short. I tend to want more space.

I’ve always been a proponent of Word Economy – to write only what is needed. But I don’t do it all that well – I think. I don’t know. I’m working on it. Especially now, it’s very difficult for me to gauge how my writing actually is. Does it sit on the page or sweep up?

I hope my fiction moves, that it sweeps up whoever’s reading it – but I don’t know. Eh. I’m working on it.

See you tomorrow,

KC