NaNoWriMo Story Update No. 2: The Story Dwindleth... and Floweth Again!

*Sigh* Guess who got behind on her word count again this week?

Good grief, all I'm trying to do is participate in life while I also write as much as I can, when I don't have any other obligations... And what happens? I end up not having time to write until later in the evening (like usual) and I really haven't gone out and participated in any write-ins this year (which I started doing the last couple years and it worked really well... too bad!) which I think made a huge difference (and a negative one) in my ability to win...

Also? These stories are being difficult!

The Last Inkweaver

Current Word Count: 108,175

By "stories" of course, I mean this one. Hey! I made it to 100K, just like I hoped I would! The only thing is, I'm just barely past the part with Ronni and the whole coup and whatnot, and while Callista and the others are having good conversations and plenty of character development happening in a gradual manner, not at all rushed or contrived... It's also taking forever, and I feel like I have to keep deferring on getting to the end as chapter after chapter goes by and these segues don't happen like I want them to!

I think, though, that I don't really need to take back what I've written, exactly. Like I said, it's good character development; Matthias needs to learn that Callista is actually more capable than he gives her credit for, and Callista needs to learn to self-advocate and stand up for herself. The whole reason I justified leaving this little segment in there was to prove to Callista that if she just lets go and accepts the Wordspinner-related things happening to her, she will be stronger for it and it will prepare her to progress through the next phase in her journey. In the case of Matthias, I am about done with his continued obstinacy, and the fact that he thinks he can just go through life picking and choosing what he wants to believe and demanding proof before he accepts something as "real"... and the moment he starts believing that, and trusting Callista when she starts trying to take charge and move forward based on the direction she's getting, the more they can start working together as a cohesive unit.

Here's the struggle with that: I know why the things are there, and I know what it's leading to... but it's the "segue" part I'm bad at. And it's that part that is getting me bogged down right now. I just need to get through it to the other side--without glossing over important parts, because if I give in and start glossing over, it will be obvious that I'm rushing things and readers will know! So I have to knuckle down and just keep on going.

Wish me luck as I move from Ronni to Tark! Luckily, there isn't much subtlety that has to go on with his part... and Callista is about ready to come into her own, so once the pieces are set up, it shouldn't need much of a push to knock 'em all down!

A Writer's Tale #3: The Sheriff's Showdown

Current Word Count: 7,291

In the interest of finishing The Last Inkweaver, I've kind of shied away from actually writing this one of late. It's going pretty alright, with Laura settling in to life in Phantom Gulch, and both Jerry and Shirley willing to come to her defense when the snooty townspeople want to remind her of her status as an outsider. It's another "setup" transition that I'm getting to in this book, as well, though... and so the interest in writing peters off. I do have plenty to look forward to, though: I've expanded and thickened the plot with the bandits, I have a new method to connect Laura with their plans and everything, I am going to have lots of fun with the new characters... but still, all that can't happen until I FINISH The Last Inkweaver!!!

I suppose my biggest disappointment and the thing that keeps nagging at me is the same old feeling of "Not Being Able To Finish Something." I managed to finish The Amazon Triangle in just over 100K, so the fact that I've written that much on The Last Inkweaver and I'm still not done is... frustrating, to say the least. I can keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it in the end... but dear me! If a book is a "writer's baby" then that book going to be one "fat baby"! More than 100K words and I'm still within 4 or 5 chapters of the end of it... Slowly but surely, it's all coming together!

The end is near, December is coming... and this weekend is my last-ditch effort to get caught up, and from there to get ahead, because if I can pull that off, then I have a chance at winning, in spite of everything that has happened so far... wish me luck!

Catch You Further Upstream!