Very Productive

So far, this weekend has been very productive. Outside of a few bumps in the road during the week, I've actually managed get a hell of a lot done. A three chapter scene is done, and i can move on to the next part. The ball is definitely rolling along now.

Am honestly surprised that this particular scene went this long. Was expecting a chapter, maybe two, but things just kept going and going and going. Not in a bad way. it's an action type scene, and they do tend to fill up rather quickly. And I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. It's a good way to amp up the threat of the antagonists and show just how dangerous the situation really is.

 Plus it gives a good bit of reasoning behind some of the backstory in the world. Kinda explains just why things are the way they are sorta thing. Always got to fit in some world building when you can. It helps flesh out the world and it makes the story better when you're able to understand the why of it all. Why things happen, why characters look at things the way they do. Plus it does kind of illustrate why Heaven found herself in the position she was in for so many years as well.

That's always a good thing. Builds up the world, threads out plot points here and there, and gives me ideas for the future that I can work with. Even if I wasn't initially planning on taking the story or characters (Heaven especially) in a certain direction. It's all a neverending work in progress. And that's a good thing.

At least I think so.

Pushing Past

I don't know why this story is giving me so many problems. It's fighting me, and I'm really not sure how to handle it. Haven't ever had this much problem writing something. Every step of the way it seems I'm running into something that's getting in the way. Not just r/l interrupting things, though that has been an issue. Hard to write much when you can't seem to get enough sleep.

It's more than that though. I got past the first trouble spot, though I will have to go over it all again later, but something just seems off about it all. Not sure what it is, or even how to correct it. Best thing i can think of is to try and power through it and maybe get some insight when the first draft is finished. Not sure though.

I'm really struggling with this, and I'm at a loss on how to fix it.

Silver lining though, I am managing to actually get some work done. Actually quite a bit written down today, but its just tooth and nail every step of the way. Will have to see how it all comes out in the end. I like how it's looking so far, but it's just getting it out in the first place that seems to be the problem.

I dunno, I foresee a lot of heavy edits when I get to that point. At this rate though, that's going to take forever to get to. Maybe I just got all caught up in how easy the first two came to me. Probably doesn't help that the first two , and quite a few after that come to think of it, have been rolling around in my head for years. This is entirely new.

I just had to feel the need to slip something in to change things up. Alter the timeline so to speak. And now I gotta deal with everything that goes along with that. Lucky me.

I'll figure it out. Even if it kills me. though I really hope it doesn't. Even still, what a way to go, huh.

Forward, always Forward

It's taken me a while to fully get back into the swing of things. Outside of somehow catching the flu during the holiday, I seem to keep running into a wall with this one. It's actually kind of aggravating how this keeps happening. I don't think I've ever had this much difficulty writing before. And all of it comes down to the interaction between two characters.

I've thought about removing the character from this story entirely, but the problem with that is, if I do that, the whole story would end up following after her. This character is integral to the story, and the overarching story so she's kind of important. Problem comes in with having to deal with her interactions with Heaven. Which isn't getting any easier.

I do think I'm getting past the bump finally though. A lot of it has to do with initial feelings and preconceptions. Which is draining as all hell to write, but once I can work my way past this and get over the speed-bump, then everything else will eventually fall into place and everything will start coming together like it should. Just got to get to the top and then everything (as far as this point is concerned) is downhill from there so to speak.

Just gotta get to that point. And that's taking quite a bit of time. Sad part it, I'm gonna have to go through all of this all over again when I get finished and start going back chapter by chapter to edit and rewrite. that's a ways off so I can kinda ignore that for now. But it's gonna be there waiting for me.

Gotta keep at it though. Do NOT want to have to start all over for a fourth or fifth time. That will just make everything take longer and I'll never get out of the "slump". I think it's actually going better though. just gotta keep focused and keep myself pushing forward. That's the key.

Work In Progress

It's taken a while, but I think I'm finally back in the swing of things.This was a very productive weekend for my writing. I think I've finally managed to get past the block that was holding everything up.

Thankfully it wasn't anything like writers block. that would have made everything a lot worse. No, this was just something that kept getting in the way of the story moving forward, and I think I've finally, after four rewrites, found a way to get around it. I just had to change up a few things, actually a lot of things, but I think this way it actually makes the whole story and how it effects everything a lot better.

I hope so anyways.

I'm finally past that part though, and tomorrow I can start on progressing the story farther than I've been able to thus far. Hopefully the ball will get rolling again and I can speed things along and get back on track. That's the hope anyway.

I honestly didn't think that writing this type of emotion was going to cause that much of a problem. Unfortunately, for the characters that are involved, there's no way around it. It has to be done. I just have to be able to write it in a  way that doesn't throw a wall in front of the whole story. i do think I've got it though, and with a few tweaks going forward, I shouldn't run into the problem any more. At least that's the plan anyway.

I tried taking the whole thing out, and not writing it at all, but honestly, its a necessary part. It's what would logically occur so not having it in just seems forced to me. Trying to make the characters do something that they wouldn't actually do never works when I write. Don't know why.

Not that it's a bad thing exactly, it just makes things more difficult and causes way more time to be spent on certain aspects than i'd prefer. Oh well, I guess that's just how it goes.

3rd Rewrite

Working on the 3rd full rewrite right now. It's aggravating. To have to toss away so much work and restart as many times as I have so far, is making it difficult to get any progress done. Not quite sure what the problem is, but I keep getting to a certain point, and it all just seems to stop.

It's not writers block, not by any stretch of the imagination. It's more like reaching a point where the story is starting to go off in a direction and with a feel that I don't want it too. Part of it has to do with certain character interactions and reactions to said interaction. It starts to bog down and get overwhelming to the point where continuing on with the path its on is no longer tenable.

That's not good. I'm looking on the bright side though, and taking it as a learning experience. Each new successive draft gets easier and easier to start writing on, and I'm getting better at avoiding the same pitfalls I've been falling into. Hopefully this will work out all for the best in the end. Though, kind of hard to tell from where I'm at right now.

But, I've got a full weekend to get as far as I can, and I plan on taking full advantage of it. So far so good. We'll have to see how far I get and how the story progresses.

I know what has to be done, and where I need to go, just getting through all the stuff that keeps getting in the way is the issue. But, I think I've got a good handle on it. Just have to keep at it and keep plugging away. This is a very difficult book so far, but I think It'll all turn out for the best. Gotta keep at it, and keep positive.

That's the only way to go.

Slow and Steady

This is taking me a lot longer than it should, and I'm not sure of the reasoning behind it. I'm not stuck at the same spot I was last time, and the writing is actually starting to go a lot faster now that I've had to go back and start all over, but something still seems off and I can't quite put my finger on it.

Every time I start to write, I get this feeling of almost dread I want to say, coming over me. Like I know what's coming and I don't want to get into it. It's making it difficult to proceed any further. I know I'm not going to get caught up in the same trap that got me doing a full rewrite this early, but that doesn't seem to be stopping the feeling from rearing up and getting in the way.

Very annoying. Especially since the actual writing is actually coming out a lot better than what I had down on paper previously. Which, when you think of that part, makes no sense why I'd be apprehensive about going forward.

Hopefully it's just a phase that I need to work through. The important part is getting to work, keeping to the schedule and not letting whatever the hell this is distract or interrupt the process. Because aside form that, I'm really liking what I'm getting down on paper so far. I think it's turning out nicely, and I know where and how to avoid the pitfalls that dragged everything down last time. So that shouldn't be a problem.

Plus I've got plenty of coffee so that helps.

Book three is starting out very action intensive, and that's actually pretty easy and very quick to write normally. I just need to make sure everything flows together like it's supposed to. Having to constantly stop and put letters in the correct order aside, I'm making a lot of progress. It's not as fast as it usually is, but still not all that slow either. It's steady.

Probably won't be getting this one out as fast as the last too, but speed isn't a goal, the story is. So that's what i have to focus on. Getting the story out and told in the way that I'm happy and satisfied with it. So far so good. Just have to push through this little voice in the back of my head is all.

Stupid voice, go bother someone else.

First Rewrite

There were just to many problems I was having with this draft of the new novel for me to work my way around. The whole thing just wasn't coming out how I wanted it, and no matter how much I tried, for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to fix it all. It was going to be more than just a few changes here and there.

The whole tone just seemed to be off to me. It wasn't what I wanted. So, in order to fix everything, I did something I've resisted for about a week now, even though I knew this is what was going to end up happening anyway. I've scrapped the whole thing.

Well, let me revise that a bit, I kept the prologue, because that came out fine. Everything else though, had to go. I think most of the issue was, that the tone I wanted with a certain character, went a little to far. And once I got into it, it changed how everything else was being written. It actually got to the point where the interactions i wanted to have, that I actually need to have for this story weren't going to be possible.Just a little bit overboard turned into full blown spiraling descent.

Not what I intended. The good thing is, I get a fresh start at everything, and not everything that I wrote couldn't be salvaged. I'll end up probably using a lot of it, just re-written to fit better in with what I envision in my mind.  Everything is going to play out in the same order, and mostly in the same way, but the tone is going to be a bit different. It needs to be if I'm going to get anywhere and if I want to avoid the same problem.

I hate writing myself into a corner. That's never any good.

And this is nothing new. I had to do something very similar with Nightwalker. I got to a certain point and it just didn't feel right. So I went back and redid the whole thing. Thankfully, I wasn't as far into this novel as I was into Nightwalker when I started over. Still, losing twelve chapters and a few weeks of work is a bit upsetting.

The hope is however, that something better will come out of all of this. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes. That's the hope anyways. It could go very wrong, but it also could go very right. It all depends on how I approach things.

And truthfully, the more you write, the better it gets anyway. Usually. We'll see how it goes with this one. It's actually flowing a lot better already. That's always a good sign.