Cranking Out Chapter Two

I had a word explosion today with 2171 words, but I felt very detached from what I was writing.  I think I basically got the sequence of events down, but I wasn’t connecting that strongly with the characters and they definitely weren’t connecting with each other.  It’s all good, though.  I like editing a first draft until it sings.  I’ve got words on paper (the screen) that I can play with now.

I hit what should be the end of the chapter and then went for a walk.  I figured out the first thing that’s wrong with Chapter Two; it’s a stand-alone scene.  I need to connect it better to the story arc of the book.  It’s a really easy fix.  So simple, but I missed it in the flurry of words.  I also missed something that was in my notes, which is just silly.  It’s funny how things come to you after you walk away from a project.  You can be so deep in the woods that you can’t see the trees.  The subconscious mind is a wonderful thing.  It will work on problems even when you don’t know it.

I think I’m going to let Chapter Two sit until tomorrow and then dive back in with fresh eyes.  Chapter Two now stands at 4447 words.