Week 4 was perhaps the most difficult drafting week thus far. I struggled to find balance in my daily life and in weaving the middle of the story. But before I get into that, let's see where I'm at.
Week 4: 11,699
Total: 46,740
This week, I managed to salvage stuff I had to trash in week 2. I had to tweak a lot of it, but I think it fit in nicely. What I thought was a waste, ended up being material I could use later. That's the main reason why I don't trash anything I write, I never know when it can be useful.
I also bounced a couple of storylines in my head. I knew where the characters were all going to end up, but how to get them there resulted in many paths to choose from. Of course, I went with the path that would wind up putting my MC in the worst situation possible. So it was fun when Friday the 13th came around, because I conjured something wicked for her, that worked out really, really, well. Too well, actually.
The thing is, once you get from a really intense traumatic scene, how do you get the character to come back from it in a very plausible and believable way? That's something I had to think long and hard about because it brought her to a turning point, and the execution would result in the agency of her actions for the rest of the book. It was difficult. Heck, middles for me are always difficult.
By the time Sunday came around, I was wiped and had meager words down to show for my time. I decided to just take the day off from drafting. I basically felt like Blaire.
On top of working out this middle, life also got busier. It's the high season at work, which left me feeling tired when I went home after to write.
On the bright side, vacation is coming up, and I think I'll be done with this draft before I fly out. It'll be marvelous. I can't wait to print this draft out and read it on hard copy while on my trip. I think just being excited about this draft and future revisions shows how passionate I am for this story. It's a different feeling from ADKOU, and I am so relieved. I hope I'm onto something.
It's funny how I felt so dejected about my trashed MS (ADKOU), thinking I'd never feel passionate about any other MS that wasn't TJE. But here I am. It's another different path I've taken, but it's worked out, and I'm curious to see where it leads me.
