Notched another 5100 words on Petra Released, making Magic Meter look like this:
So in last week’s exciting installment, I bemoaned the lack of cool discoveries and writerly moments over the course of the novel. A day or two after writing those words, my muse showed up–at work, of all places. I was on a walk over my lunch break when I suddenly I made . . . well, a cool discovery. I figured out a key portion of the ending, and more important, discovered I had been setting it up all along. I was so amazed and excited that I went back through the manuscript and found I’ve been planting the seeds for it, all unknowing, as early as chapter two. I dropped another seed in chapter five. And another in chapter ten.
Readers will no doubt assume that I set all this up deliberately. I assure you, I did not. I’ve just been building my wings on the way down.
And I’ll tell you something else–I’ve noticed I’ve been getting some of my best ideas on these lunchtime walks. You can bet yer boots I’ll be walking again this week. You never know when the muse will join you.
Much of the murk has been cleared away now. I can’t say I have it all worked out–there’s another blank spot a few chapters ahead–but I think I have enough landmarks to find my way through.
It’s quite possible I’ll finish this thing sooner than expected. My projected length of 100K is looking less and less likely. I still think it will be longer than Petra, but not by much.
Write Club update:
Personalized rejection from <market name redacted for reasons I can’t explain right now>.
Onward . . .
