Despite my recent spate of novel writer’s block I have come from the rear to begin working my way back toward getting caught up! I’m a little over 14k words behind so this means I’ll have to do about triple duty for the next few days to get caught up. I feel hopelessly behind but I don’t really feel bad about it because I’m still going. I am still dong the Paso Doble!
I’ve got a new chunk up today and it’s the equivalent of about ten pages. YEAH!
I’ve managed to hold off the ravages of my inner editor so far, and haven’t been rewriting. This is very tough but it’s alright, it gets a little easier with every bit I write. I’m going to finish this so I’m keeping up the good cheer and the determination.
I’ve been learning a few things about my story:
-Delfin is an intractable bastard. He’s a complete jerk. He needs a redeeming quality. I have planned to make him alternately self-loathing and arrogant but I haven’t shown that yet. I’ll say that will be a lot more clear in revision.
-Sofelil is pretty snooty-fruit. This is alright. She doesn’t really get much depth until later and for now she serves as a foil for Vidanja.
-Vidanja is missing some important stuff. She’s supposed to have this identity crisis about her heritage as the war becomes imminent and she feels the need to ever more deeply bury her roots. I haven’t demonstrated this very well but luckily I did get in a little bit of ridicule from the peanut gallery.
-Sania. She needs more definition. She wasn’t in my original plan or in my notes. She just showed up, as did Sofelil’s (as-yet-unnamed) mother. I was asked by a reader if the tattooist from chunk 3 will get a name. She will, I promise.
-I hadn’t planned for Vidanja to go back to the creche but it seemed natural. I see that revision is going to be crazy. But perhaps it won’t hurt as much as I keep hearing it does. Then again that’s what I thought about writing a novel.
So, this is both easier and harder than I had thought. This is really my first time immersing myself in a difficult writing process and not stopping because it’s too hard. I’m not sure what all is supposed to transpire but it seems to come pretty naturally bit by bit, and I’m really starting to understand what people mean when they say they don’t know the characters and the story until the first draft is finished. Truth be told, I’m looking forward to finishing the draft and getting to revision. The process might be unpleasant but only now am I beginning to see what the characters and story are actually like, and while they resemble what I sketched out, they’re turning into something more than I had imagined.