Massive revision done for my upcoming adult fantasy/thriller

It took a few weeks (I actually lost count) but I've managed a full rewrite/revision of my novel. Right now, it sits at 90k words. This is actually going to be a sort of short blog posting, since I don't have much to say. I've decided I'll try and chronicle things as I go, so maybe this one is more for me.

Instead of leaving most everyone alive, I actually fused two chapters, killed off an entire city, and did massive overhauls on Ana's character.

I've cut Dahlia's 'life span' from four months to four weeks.

What do people think of 'and'. I know if it's used too much, it becomes repeditive, but sometimes it can't be helped. I've done a lot of restructuring, but cutting it out entirely isn't a great option either. Is it just one of those words most people don't worry about, or do you strive to get rid of as many as possible?

The power of why

Why is a powerful question. It has the power to add depth to a story, but it can also yank the reader right out of it. Just take a look at the Avengers movie for an example of this.

During the story, Bruce Banner loses control and becomes the Hulk. He goes on a rampage, attempts to kill Black Widow, and shows us he's got no control over that side of himself. Yet later, when they have to fight the aliens called out by Loki, we see Bruce transform at will, and he's suddenly able to control Hulk.

Bad storytelling. We never see what brings this change on, so we have nothing to speculate. We can only assume the drop made him land on his had, giving him some insight he wouldn't normally have. Hard to say. But in any case the only answer one can gather is it happened because the story demanded it.

Fixing the issue in your own story can range from simple to impossible. The first step is identifying the issue. Once you do that, you just have to develop something that makes sense.

Good "why"moments have to draw the reader in. These are often most used in mystery novels. So I'd like to start a little discussion. What are the best "why" moments you've ever seen, and why do you think they work so well?

The Cannabalistic Muse

Isn't that how it seems sometimes? Writers start with a plethora of muses, who whisper little ideas. Then they all merge. We find ourselves writing the same kind of stories over and over. Not that that's bad. Whatever works, right? But writers need to challenge themselves. If you get stuck in a niche, eventually your stories will be predictable. Once your muse turns cannabal, gobbling up all your other muses, you're eventually left with one muse telling you "write this story with these elements". My fantasy muse gobbled up my thriller muse. Now she insists that all I should write are fantasy thrillers.

Well, it's time to seperate them. Muses aren't like humans. Even when they turn cannabal, you can make them cough the poor absorbed muse up (eventually). Doesn't mean they're going to like it, though! Here's the best method.

What do you write? For example, I write (as I said) fantasy thrillers. In order to get Fantasy to cough up poor Thriller, I've decided to take on side projects that involve Fantasy and GLBT muses. Don't worry Thriller, you'll be out of there in no time!

But why seperate them? Well, as I said: Predictability. Sometimes it's good. It gives the reader some assurance that you aren't going to shock them with things they don't want to read. But it also means that you're eventually going to get bored. There's nothing sadder than a writer bored of their own stories! So my advice, if you find yourself writing the same stuff over and over, is to do what you're worst at. Bad at fantasy? Write a fantasy! It doesn't need to get published (unless in the end you decide it's much better than you thought it would be) but it will, in the long-run, give you better scope as a writer. Keep your primary muses, but adopt a few others as well. You never know when certain elements you think you're bad at will come in handy in your story.