Bastard

That’s me, if by temperament alone I be judged.

Not for the circumstances of my birth, but for what I’m doing to my Protagonists.

There are very clearly two characters who fit that description now, which is a twist I was not expecting at all. The main character is still the lead perspective, but the secondary is , In my view, the real Hero. His story will be another volume entirely, and although I know how it “ends,” I don’t think I’m ready to write it just yet. I had a bit of a surprise planned in the third act, but after 3 days of revisions, rearranged chapters, and a more complete understanding of my plot, the tally now stands at just shy of 67K words.

Or more accurately, 50% complete. But the Plot is finally 100 %, and re-envisioning the climax helped a great deal.

First Draft of the First Act stands at 30500 words. I anticipate adding as many as 5 K to that total, but any more than that could get into redundancies. This complete movement includes six parts; a Prologue, and Chapters 1-5. The first 10000 words are edited, reedited and proofed, and can be submitted at any time.

This alone makes me feel very good about the weekend’s work.

Act 2 is in 8 parts. Two completed chapters, four requiring more “meat on the bone”, and two plotted yet unwritten chapters. Current tally is just shy of 24K words, and I expect to finish with at least double that count, if not triple.

Act 3 is in 6 parts. Two completed chapters, three requiring more flesh, one plotted but unwritten, and the Epilogue. I feel very strongly about Act 3, and as much as I want to sink my teeth into it, I’ll not do so until the second part is done to my satisfaction. It stands at 11K words now, and should come in somewhere around 50K.

I had to make some hard cuts and choices. But the book is a lot better for them. Act 1 is ready for first readers, but I hope to send out Act 2 at the same time in several weeks. I have already selected those people, so please don’t ask to see it just yet. If all goes well, there will be a finished manuscript circulating at the beginning of April, only a month behind schedule.

And then, just maybe, I can work on the piece of short fiction mocking me from the corner of my desk.