Oh, No, I’m In The Bad Place!

That’s how it feels anyway when I get to this part in the writing process. I knew it was coming eventually, so I’m prepared, but it’s annoying nonetheless. This is the part where I look at everything, and I go “Oh, ew, no, bad, yuck, throw it all away!”

I won’t throw it all away because I know there’s something salvageable here–that’s the whole point–but I have gotten bogged down by a few meandering scenes, some repetition, and character stagnation. This is the fate many a second in series succumbs to, I think, and I don’t want to treat book two as just a bridge from one to three, but there’s a point where it feels like that, and that point is now.

Part of the problem is that I’ve placed my characters into a setting that I’ve changed about three times leading up to it. I like the current iteration, but I’m not sure what greater purpose it serves. I’m concerned it’s too similar to the previous settings/situations they’ve encountered in this book specifically, and the new world I’ve put them in requires more to feel fully fleshed out, but too much and I’m afraid it will slow the story’s progression down.

But it’s sort of like I totally forget what exactly happens in a story. It’s like, I’m writing, and my brain just stops and says to itself, “Wait, is this right? You just…write down what people are doing and saying and what things look like and how people feel and stuff for…one hundred thousand words? And hope it makes sense?” And, like, yeah, Brain, that is the gist, I mean, it’s a lot more complicated and nuanced, but basically. And yet it feels wrong. Like I’m missing something crucial.

Now isn’t really the time to worry about all this, I suppose, especially when I’m expecting the muse that originally inspired this thing to show back up and remind me what she meant to have actually happen. Now is the time to push through because the final act of this book is next (I’m at the 70k mark of book 2!), and then I’m in the actual final stretch of setting off onto book three. Gods, I’m going to ruin these characters.

I’ve set a deadline of April 12th to finish up these drafts which is still within reach if I…stop blogging and start writing…so, bye!