You read that title right, I’ve got a good update for this month!
Despite things picking up at work and making me busier and busier, I was still able to pull off three (count ’em, three!) full chapters completed. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 are done!
This aligns with what I had mentioned in some previous posts. At this point in the first draft, I had started getting a better feel of the story, the characters, my voice, and the plotting. That means that these edits aren’t as intensive, and I can sometimes go a page or two barely even touching that redline function. It’s great and fun to see the progress coming along and meshing more cohesively.
What I also learned is that I can work in intensive bursts (which may end up being more useful moving forward). Let me explain. Before, I would try to get in a half hour here, a half hour there, to try and spread out revisions when I had the time. This past month, however, I tried taking time to sit down for an hour or two for an intensive burst. I was able to get up to a full chapter done in one sitting! After seeing this success, I’m thinking that will be my best option moving forward. I was not able to sit and work on it every day, or even every week, but I was still able to get three chapters done.
I’m trying to keep these updates a little shorter since I’ve already discussed plot points and character moments in my previous posts during the first draft of the story (which you can go check out now if you’d like). Just know that I’m excited to make sure my foreshadowing is properly set up for some surprises along the way (including many that won’t be seen in this particular book… wink wink).
Until next time!