I did it! I finished chapter 7. It took a bit of self-motivation, but I did it.
I obviously ended up having to rewrite the initial 2,000ish lost words I mentioned in last month’s post, but I think I was able to capture the basic feel of my original draft. It was hard to separate myself from trying to remember exactly how I wrote it, but once I did, I got through it. And I think it came out pretty well, if I do say so myself.
All in all, I wrote just over 4,500 words which made up all of chapter 7. In total, I’m sitting at around 36,500 words. With 7 of the planned 17 chapters finished, I’m fast approaching the book’s halfway point. I was honestly hoping I would have more of the book done by this point of the year, but life is life. Even so, hitting 50% will be an important milestone that I’m looking forward to.
Now, let’s get on to some background on what I’ve written this month.
Chapter 6 gave a taste of what’s to come, a shock to the system on what exactly Di and her crew are up against. Chapter 7, on the other hand, is where crap hits the proverbial fan, as it were. Chapter 6 teased some important questions and chapter 7 gave some good answers. Not all the answers, but enough to put a bit of a face to the threat. We start to see some consequences, and it’s only going to get more intense from here.
This is also where we start to see Di unravelling. It really started in chapter 6, but the things she learns, sees, and does in chapter 7 make that impact all the worse. Spoiler: it’s not going to get better.
When I first started outlining this book, I really wanted to explore the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and anxiety in general. There are parts of Di’s past, as a former soldier and current mercenary, that were not properly dealt with by herself and those around her, and the events in this book add an entirely new traumatic layer to her psyche. I’ve done a little research into the effects and the signs of PTSD and have tried to start lacing it through the undercurrent of her character. Before too much longer, I definitely plan on doing a deeper dive into what triggers it, outward signs, inner feelings, etc. As someone who has experienced anxiety, it’s something I wanted to attempt to convey in a way that’s accessible to those who may not fully understand or experience something like that, but also done in a genuine and relatable way for those who deal with it themselves. I do want to make it clear that I know there is a difference between anxiety and PTSD, but there is some overlap that I wanted to understand more deeply myself and explore.
Chapter 7 ends on an intense high, so chapter 8 is a bit of a ramp down. Similar to earlier chapters, it’s full of intense apprehension (even more so now that the reader and the characters themselves have a taste of what could be waiting for them around every corner), and you’re waiting for when the crap inevitably hits that already covered fan yet again.
Here’s to (hopefully) another productive writing month!