Watching the Slow Carousel

Lessons from My Reading:  Still ploding along with Jane Haddam's Cheating at Solitaire.  Don't get me wrong.  The book's slow reading because there's so much in it.  Location background.  The characters interacting with each other and their heads.  Then, there's the murder mystery.  Somewhere in all the movement, clues are hiding. 

(Sometime I'm going to have to do a little research to see if real murders are as interesting as fictional ones.  Also, how the number of fictional murders compares to the real murder statistics.  The schemed ones.  Not the stupid or emotional ones.)

One thing made me pause in my reading.  The divisions of the book.  The prologue I understood.  Then, Haddam has a Part I and II.  I can be generalized as more character introduction, including detective Demarkian.  II seems to be concentrating on Demarkians reaction to all the significant characters.  I flipped through the pages and didn't notice any Part III, though there is an Epilogue.  I don't understand dividing the book like that.  Seems to me following the story from beginning to end is simpler.

Did like the assigning of numerals to the changes in point of view within the chapters though.  Made as much sense as using the "###" convention.

Progress:  Emma.  Am half way through my revision.  Also, writing a lot of notes to myself about things I need to do in upcoming chapters.  I find the revision process fascinating ... sometimes I cut out whole paragraghs because they sit like a rock in the narrative flow.  Fewer times I add one.  Always I look to replace a bunch of verb parts (to be forms mostly) with one verb.

Emma's paused on the edge of entering Faery, and I'm dreading revising the next section.  How do you make a magical place unique and different.  My critiquers have already said I don't convey enough sense of wonder.  But then, Emma is a rather phlegmatic character.  --  Think selling the book will rest on how well I accomplish the above.

Trivia:  Watched a rerun of Castle last night and am looking forward to Monday's new episode.  I like the way Castle's family life frames the detection part of the story line.