One, Singular New Chapter

Word Nerd is finally finally done drafting the new chapter for her novel. The new Chapter Nine. This new chapter took far, far, far too long to write. There was the false start. And then there was the putting it off because she was reading Stephenie Meyer's "The Host." Done with that, Word Nerd thought last night it was high time to buckle down and finish this chapter.


Here's what she learned:

First. It's kind of tricky to get back into the rhythm of the characters and write full tilt. When doing the original draft, all the main characters -- Sedine, Taorin, Preben, Lefra, etc. -- were very alive in her head and so writing them was no big deal. Now, in the editing phase, their actual voices are quieter so that Word Nerd's internal editor can speak more freely. Adding in the chapter meant muting the editor and returning the characters to the forefront.


Second. The novel is better for having this chapter. Shocker. The gap between the original chs. 8 and 9 was too big, too much skipped information. Now, the original ch. 8 and now-chapter 10 hang together much better.

Third. The BIC writing plan works. (This being the butt-in-chair plan). This chapter took too long because Word Nerd wasn't making herself sit there and just write it. Ditto for the editing.

Fourth. The first revisions won't be done by the end of May. Now, sometime in June is the target date for the first pass through. Slower than hoped for, but not too bad. Given also that most TV shows end for the season next week, Word Nerd can't blame Bones or House or (ahem) American Idol for why she's not making progress.

Fifth. Word Nerd can't wait for her newly launched critique group to get underway because she needs some outside perspectives.