5100 words on Petra last week, bringing the total to 64.7 K.
Managed to slog through that blank spot I mentioned last week.
![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pointed out to me that a lot of writers would have simply skipped over it for now, and come back to it later. True enough, as I told her, but for some reason, that always feels like cheating to me. I’m also concerned that something really important might happen in the skipped portion, and I wouldn’t want to miss it. As it turns out, I did find something in those scenes that will directly impact the ending, so I think the slog was worth it. And it didn’t hurt my productivity goals, so it’s all good.
But I gotta tell ya, things are looking really bleak for my protagonist. I hate doing this to the guy, but I think he’s screwed.
I’m almost done with the second act, and curiously, I note that I’m having some of the same problems I had at the end of the first: it seems to be dragging, just when the action should be picking up. Hmmm. Not sure what this means. I suspect these parts of the novel will require the most significant rewriting. Of course, I’m in no position to predict that at the moment.
I also had to negotiate a couple of tricky obstacles to get my words in–namely, the impending release of the new Rush album (in stores Tuesday!) and the NFL Draft. Have you ever tried to write while listening to interviews with members of your favorite band, streaming from a Canadian radio station’s web site? How about while trying to follow the first round of the draft via Sirius, and wondering how the hell your favorite pro team, desperately in need of a quarterback, manages to pass on Brady Quinn?
Well, let me assure you, it ain’t easy. But such are the sacrifices we make for our art.
No updates for Write Club this week.
Onward . . .
(John Beck? Are you kidding me?)
