Proces, updatery, and stuff

If you are bored, uninterested, or otherwise don’t care about how, what, and when I write,

Tough.

My pages, my words.

Warning over. I do these updates more for my own process than anything else, it helps me remember where I was on certain days, especially when the manuscript shifts.

It shifted something major yesterday, and in my opinion, it got a lot better. The new outline concept with which I came home from WorldCon is a lot tighter and focused than the previous large blocks of text. It has also helped me increase the size of book one by some 20k decent words last week. More importantly, it helped with my own satisfaction with it.

Yesterday, I awoke with an epiphany of sorts about the middle of the book, where it was dragging somewhat. I figured out a way to kick it back into gear, and realized that I could remove one word from a previous section (one 15 years old at that), and both the middle of book one and most of book two improve as a result.

Preparing for it, wordcount moved ahead about 1k to 86.5, but I was able to redistribute the content of Chapter two across 1, 3, 4 and 5. not only does it take out a slow, plodding recitation of facts, it enhances the other sections and keeps action and tension high.

Also, I invented a character so that I could kill him. that always makes me happy. Over the weekend, I realized that there was a bit of scenery that will pay off big time at the end of B. 1 and the beginning of b.2, making the protagonist more human, more believable.

So very close now. I’m predicting B.1 to finish at around 100K this week. Then I go write the final chapter of B.2, and then apply the same lessons I’ve learned to it as well. Still so very tempted to market the whole as BOTH one giant book, and two smaller volumes.

Today is happy sandwich day. I shall be happy. and stuff. Because I sure as heck fire feel like crap. Almost didn’t make it through dinner last night, with yawning, body ick, and the not breathing. Many thanks to Linz, who not only got me out of the house for her special day, but also suffered through a more involved version of this here post.

Time to hit the next 10 chapters. Who knows how cool it will be when I’m done, eh?