400 new words + a ton of little things.
Warning, big and semi-disjointed entry ahead.

Despite the lazy day yesterday, reading helped re-expose my brain to the third omniscient POV. I’ve been courting third limited and first for so long now that it was healthy to see the merits of third omni, and it helped nurture the CHILLCRAFTER story that is incubating in my head. Took a bunch of worldbuilding notes when I couldn’t sleep.

Another thought that danced around my head this morning: cliffhangers may be harder to manage than I think. I don’t actually know because I haven’t really tested them in market… but gut says that even serially published stuff must have self-contained conclusions (i.e. it’s not enough to break a complete story into four parts, polish the ends and beginnings, then ship ‘em). There must be complete, satisfying arcs in each piece, much like a TV episode inevitable concludes whatever mini-plot is happening within.

However, maybe not. There are shows like Game of Thrones that really do no such thing: there are high action points and good structure, but it’s one long ole tale. So, for now, I don’t think I’ll overhaul anything or seriously delay any publishing for the sake of adhering to this rule. Quantity must not be left behind in favour of quality… but it’s something to think about going forward.

Also! May have solved the snagging points in MIDNIGHT. The lead up to the climax was moving as slow as molasses which is not a good sign for the liveliness and pep of the prose (at least in my case). Combined with feedback from crits on the first episode and my noodling over complete arcs, I think the third episode needs to start without the cold open (I was so into it earlier this month!), focus on Alena finding the ring and what the ring does, and deepen Persi’s arc. That way the story inside episode three is about the ring and the b-story is Persi’s mystery. Right now it’s like, half about this ring and half me-struggling-to-tie-the-middle-the-end. We shall see if I can retool it in the next few days.

The theme of this blog entry: battles on many fronts. I came home to two new crits, an explosion of new ideas for CHILLCRAFTER, the commitment to go to the gym and a nagging reminder that I should get on the CHILDSEEKER edits. I also edited parts of MIDNIGHT for passive voice fixes based on those crits, updated my CC profile… and bunch of other little things that were not writing. (I did actually write though! Close to 400 words. I’ll call it that ‘cause some added into edits, etc.)

I feel like I made progress but there’s a danger to being unfocussed. I’m worried I’ll start drafting CHILLCRAFTER to chase the shiny new ball and fail to publish and maintain a release schedule for the other two. Stay tuned, is all I can say. Will be very interested to see where I net out a month from now, and at the end of my 4-week cycle (September 10).