The Heat is On

Posted On June 17, 2022

Photo by Michele Venne

The heat is on, and so is the self-imposed pressure! I vowed I would stick as close to my schedule as possible this week. As a result, I made progress on all my projects, but still did not accomplish everything. And this give me the opportunity to practice grace, self-love, and forgiveness.

I made the greatest gains on The Bookie, recording about 8,000 words. In terms of the timeline of the story, I have a week to go. Each day brings the reader closer to the climax, which I think might be unsuspected. I’m in what authors call the “soggy middle.” Usually I feel this closer to the end. It’s an uncomfortable sensation of working but not making progress, like the finish line keeps moving. I’m committed to at least 2,000 words a day. Sometimes that’s a scene, but sometimes it’s more. It’s the experience of not seeing the forest through the trees. I’m past my third deadline and too far into the story to set it aside.

I’ve also done a little work on short story #2. Very pleased that I was able to drop in and add some words. A couple of questions have come up, like what clues will they find that points to the killer, and instead of the hero changing jobs, the heroine will relocate. I hadn’t planned on this story being my annual holiday story, but by the time I finish, it will probably be the holidays!

Choosing the first crime, the names of the characters, adding side characters, and a bit of backstory all happened this week for my serial that will be published on Patreon. I did a little touch up work on the opening scene (which I wrote years ago in a writers group) and have folders set up on my desk top and flash drive.

I’m not stalled out on the nonfiction, but the section I’ve been working on is slow going. For every line, I have to hit “insert” and the “equation editor.” It’s tedious. I am making progress! My hope is to finish the current topic and move quicker on the next couple to make up time. I told a beta reader I would have it done by mid-July. Regardless of procrastination or slogging or lack of caffeine, all of these need to be done by September 1.

Written by Michele Venne

Writer of immersive and intriguing stories.

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