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.