Well, sleep didn't help me resolve my chapter 15 issues. I still don't like what I've done.
I tried editing things, to make it flow better. I tried tying it into a new section at the end of the chapter that would "undo" what I did that I don't like. But when all is said and done, I think I'm going to be deleting a huge chunk of text. Sadly, I'm not sure what I'm going to be replacing it with.
The hazard I'm stumbling into, with chapters 15-18 is that these are the ones I wasn't sure about in the first place. This would be day four in my story's timeline, and it's the day when I'm not sure what happened. Sure, I have things to put in there NOW, but they didn't just spring fully formed into my head like the rest of the tale. And because I struggled with the idea, I wonder if the actual writing of the idea will feel like a struggle too. (or, if because I struggled with the idea, it means its actually a BAD idea)
Can you work on your other WIP a few days or a week? Sometimes that is helpful. Or maybe try writing in another format for a while. How about a flash fiction piece? Or a song lyric with really lame rhymes?
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I'm serious. When I get stuck I go to something completely different for a while.
Good luck with 15-18. And really, if they're meant to be they'll happen.
You know, I've never tried flash fiction. I did attempt a short story, a few months ago, after I decided that being published in a magazine was an absolute MUST to get a novel published.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I think I am so entrenched in a "novel" mindset, that the challenge of confining an entire in-depth story to a few thousand words is just beyond me.
Of course, it could also have been that I was trying to do a sci-fi story, and that is SO not my bag.