What The Hell Is Up With This?

Well, the SAT bug (Sluggish, Achy and Tired) has burned through my family, and luckily, it's only a one-day thing. I'm feeling fine today. Had the day off, went to my daughter's kindergarten graduation, which...

You know, it was a neat deal and all, but are they going to give them diplomas for every grade? I hope not.

Anyway, after that, I went to the office and wrote for a while. Here's the counter (thought I'd try blue this time):

76,000 / 80,000 (95.0%)

But here's the thing that bugs me--here I am, literally a stone's throw from the ending, right smack in the middle of the big action climax, a climax, might I add, that is not only probably the coolest thing I've ever written, but is much, much cooler than I even imagined it would be when I first conceived this project going on fifteen years ago.

So why, why am I choosing now of all times to start worrying that the book has no overall arc? I mean, it does, in a sense;there is a sequence of causation from the beginning of the book to the end. And being adventure fiction (and something leaning toward serial adventure fiction at that), you don't expect the same kind of dramatic unity and character growth that you'd see in a literary novel.

But I worry that when people read it, they'll just see what the Turkey City Lexicon calls an 'And Plot.' This happens, then that happens, then another thing happens, and it all adds up to a whole lot of hullaballoo over nothin'. I mean, I'm already taking a risk with a Deus ex Machina.

I just hate it that I'm letting my buzz over finishing what could be a very entertaining story be diluted by my fear that I'm writing the novel equivalent of "Attack of the Clones"--a ton of cool effects and scenes in the service of a 'meh' story.