If it made itself obvious over the last several weeks, this part of the book is becoming a grind. With the exception of the last post, most of what’s showed up in the last six weeks or so have be like pulling teeth. It’s not the fault of the story or the material produced (bloated, wordy, however you want to put it, it’s getting thinned out for the first overall edit, and I’ve always preferred to “trim down” rather than “bulk up.”)
This was a problem that existed right from the start. The middle, bridging between Will’s finding he’d inherited a wrecked homestead and the finishing third has always been foggy in my head, right from conception. I always knew what he’d start from, and knew where he was going to end up, but building a suitable bridge has ever been the hard part. It hasn’t been for lack of ideas, either, but having too many.
Sorting it out has been the toughest part of the job. The best solution, really, would be to go back to day one and start a good edit. That would take weeks, if not a couple of months. I’m not willing (but reeeeally ready) to take that route quite yet. I started out wanting to get a complete first draft out, beginning, middle and end. I’ve written half a dozen novels, have always done an edit at the middle or two third point. I’ve wound up scrapping all but two of ’em. This, and another that is half done, but so off the wall I don’t want to take a crack at finishing it yet. Mebbe next project.
I’ve scratched out a couple hundred words for the next entry, and am just going to grit my teeth and plow through for the next couple weeks… months and see how it goes.
I actually have the last quarter of this thing blocked out chapters that are still in chunks and scraps. About fifteen thousand more words should get me hooked up to that section, and a sprint to the finish is really very likely. We’ll see.
Thanks to all who’ve stuck with me this far.