Almost the end of Act One - Word count 28,994 (wp) 36,000 (pr)

I tend to think of novels as having the same three act structure as most movies. In general terms, it goes like this...

Act 1: The kick off event, establishing the setting, the setting out of characters, the taking of sides, the beginning of conflict, climaxing in some sort of major shift for the protagonist.

Act 2: Plot, plot, plot. The hardest act in many ways, because stuff needs to keep moving, conflict is built upon, agan coming to some sort of climax that sets up the third act.

Act 3: The hopeless situation created at the end of the last act needs to be overcome, and all paths lead to a big showdown which will hopefully be satisfying and believable.

So, I'm approaching the climax of Act One. My protagonist is going to come into direct conflict with the antagonist for the first time. Things are ticking along reasonably well in terms of words per day, but it's still much harder going than my last novel. I'll get there eventually, though.