Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.falloutlunartic wrote:How do you decide what details to keep in a story and what details to take out?
This is another good question.
When I rewrote the story, there were things in there that I had to double-check the facts. For instance, there was a part in the book where it was mentioned that Cody had learned how to hunt and live off the land. Not many noticed this (if any) but I left out "fish". In the original manuscript, Cody knew how to hunt and fish. When I checked it out again, I discovered that Apache Indians didn't fish or eat anything that lived under the water. So to leave that one word in there would have been historically inaccurate.
I look for stuff like that. I move on to keeping things consistent and as realistic as possible. Fiction is fiction, of course, but if a scene doesn't fit, I cut it.
The paranormal aspect of this story is fiction but it was based on something that happened to my grandfather in the Black Hills of South Dakota when he was a child. He and his mother lived on a ranch west of Deadwood and she fell ill in the middle of the night. She needed a doctor. The Black Hills are indeed, black, in the middle of the night. He got on a horse and rode to Deadwood to get the doctor and all the way, there was a light guiding him.
I wanted to keep that in the story and gosh darn the consequences. I believe in miracles and I believe love conquers all.
I hope this answers your question. Thank you for asking.
-- 06 Jan 2016, 03:42 --
Thanks, gali.gali wrote:Great answers!
Will there be a sequel at some point?
I have no plans for a sequel at this time.