Writing Log | Week 18
Day 1 — Sunday
Goal for the week: actually start editing Act II.
Day 2 — Monday
Slow start to writing for the week — I’m recovering from a weekend of traveling. The beach was lovely, but traveling with an 11-month-old isn’t the most restful activity in the world!
Here are the chapters I want to focus on this week:
The first chapter in Act II, Chapter 13, needs some fine-tuning. Right now it’s mostly our MMC’s internal narration. I need to add some conflict with the antagonists to raise the stakes.
The second chapter (14), however, is one of my favorites and should require little editing.
The third chapter (15) is somewhere in the middle. There’s lots of action, including a turning point for the MMC — his “rise” inversely mirrors the FMC’s “fall”, if you’ve read Save the Cat! Writes a Novel – but there’s a lot going on. I think I’ve packed too much into this chapter, so I need to make it tighter.
My goal is to tackle Chapter 13 on TWTh, Chapter 14 ThF, and Chapter 15 on Saturday.
Day 3 — Tuesday
Writing before bed with a glass of cab and a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven. The dream.
A quick sprint got me a third of the way through the chapter — right on pace with the plan I outlined yesterday!
Day 4 — Wednesday
Back to write before bed, still working on this bottle of red. I like this new little ritual. Still working on Chapter 13.
One small sentence I forgot about, but like enough to keep:
Power always held purpose.
I got through another 1,000 words tonight (including about 400 completely new words) and finished Chapter 13. I’m now ahead of schedule, so I’m signing off for the night!
Day 5 — Thursday
Up early to write before my 11 month old wakes up! Today I’m working on Chapter 14, which is already in a spot that I’m happy with.
Another little tidbit about the magic in this story:
They can summon water to drown you on solid ground. Open fissures in the earth to swallow you whole. They can make you do anything simply because they can cause you pain.
Logged back on after work to tackle the rest of the chapter.
Although I’m focusing on several bigger changes with this edit, it’s also satisfying to tighten up sentences in smaller ways. For instance: “I could feel the tension straining his voice, like he wanted to roar” becomes “Tension strained his voice like he wanted to roar.”
Done! Now I have Friday and Saturday left to tackle Chapter 15. I love being ahead of schedule!
Day 6 — Friday
Took a rest day!
Day 7 — Saturday
Working on Chapter 15 this morning, and it’s a longer one. There’s a bit of cleaning up to do — it’s front-loaded with dialogue and the key action happens toward the end. My goal is to make it more balanced.
Some new words for today:
I’d rather suffer myself than see you in agony again.
Wrapped this up after a quick sprint. So glad I was able to hit my goal for the week!