A turning point - Word count 39,975 (wp) 52,250 (pr)

It's very late and I'm very tired. I came in after ten this evening after a very long and busy day at my business and later at a recording session (I still do occasional session work, but only if I like the project). I decided to open up the Word doc that is my latest attempt at a novel just to read over what I'd written yesterday, and -- BANG! -- it's a little more than three hours later, nearly 2 AM, and my novel is 2000 words longer.

That's the way this project has been since the outset. It has a life of its own, and seems to want to keep on flowing whether I'm in the mood to write or not. I'm grateful for this. I've never been in a position where I depended on being able to write something, where my quality of life would actually be affected by it, so 'writer's block' has no real meaning to me. I'm sure there are many out there who dread those words, but it's not something I've experienced - but that's simply because I've never had to. So, I know it exists, and I'm grateful that my juices are flowing so easily (is it just me, or did that last phrase seem a little wrong?!).

Anyway, the 2000 words mostly consisted of a pivotal scene where my protagonist experiences a complete and utter demolition of his entire belief system. Everything he knows has been wiped away by one huge revelation that will ultimately free him. I didn't present it directly, though, and this is a point I'm not sure of. It's something I'll need an objective party to critique to see if it works. We find him after the revelation has happened, when he's in denial, reeling from its impact. We then learn about the revelation as he goes back over it, so we kind of get it second hand. I felt this would heighten the sense of what it meant to him while lessening the melodrama of the event itself.

Good idea? I don't know. It may well have to be rejigged come revision time. I'm just glad to get it down as it represents a major turning point in the story.

So, to the story itself. The novel. What am I going to do with it when it's done? Honestly, I don't know. If I still think it's any good, then of course, I'll begin the process of submission and rejection in the hope of getting it published. I intend to submit the hook, and if requested, the opening scene to Miss Snark's third Crap-O-Meter (see previous post or follow the link on the right) so she can maul it. That's on December 15th, by which time I should be finished the first draft.

And if it's no good? Well, I think I'll be content enough just to have finished it. It'll be one more thing ticked off the 'Things to do before I die' list, and that in itself will be worth the effort. Plus, it's fun. I'm really enjoying this. I may be suffering the effects of sleep deprivation, but at least I'll have something to show for it.

I suppose the question follows - which 'Thing to do before I die' will I tackle after this mountain has been climbed? Having a threesome* with Sheryl Crow and Jennifer Aniston is next on the list.

You never know. It could happen.

Couldn't it?

*2019 Author's Note: With thirteen years worth of hindsight, the author acknowledges that this thesis is both sexist and wildly optimistic. The author acknowledges that the scenario so described demeans the named women, and that said scenario has a snowball's chance in hell of ever happening, in either singularity or duality. The author has since promised to do better and set more realistic goals in life.