I’m seven pages into the rework of my chapter 15. So far it’s kept most of the character and plot points it started with though the characters have been significantly revised since the last go around, and the events leading up to it have also changed a lot. The problem I’m having thought is that I’m not satisfied with the words hitting the page. I’ll write a bit of scene and look back over it, just to make sure I got the entire thought. Entirely too often, I don’t like what I’m seeing. Part of it is my own overly critical eye, the other part is that I’m not sure HOW to make it better than it is -perhaps I’ll need a friend with a red pen. I would say that what I’m writing flows reasonably well and has adequate description and action, but it’s not as good as I want it to be. I’m forcing myself to just let it go and continue on. All of the highlights are in there. I think right now the best thing to do is to work through the revision, go back through one more time, and continue on through the story. I’ll just have to let it sit and simmer before I can go back and think about the polishing process. Anyhow, that’s today’s thought.
Tag Archives: writing progress
Progress report
Last week sometime (the week before maybe? I don’t remember) I made the decision to insert a chapter into a section I had previously called done (well, not done, but solid draft anyhow). Being a holiday week, I spent a lot of time with family and friends, and so had written off any progress being made until safely after the holidays. However, and in spite of my belly-aching about big stretches of upcoming re-writing, I finished the first (super-rough) draft of the new chapter last night. It’s a short one, coming in at about 3500 words, but it’s there, and I can work with it. Yay! This puts me at about 68K words drafted. Some of it needs significant re-writing, all of it needs lots of polishing and I will need to cut a few bits here and there totaling maybe a chapter’s worth, but it still feels like progress! My plan is for somewhere between 3 and 5 chapters left to draft up, but they’re all mostly mapped out. I think I have one plot-gap that needs some serious thought, and could prove to be a sticking point, but everything else is set up so that whatever the case, I should have plenty to work with in filling it in. I’m aiming at 80-100 words for this story, and it looks like I’ll probably hit that target. Anyhow, so progress is being made, and it feels good.
On Writing Dragons 