Effulgent Corruption: Back in Black

A little over 2k today, I'm back in the groove. A few things of note that don't really matter to anybody reading but I'm going to say them anyway because then I'll remember.

- I'm going to have to go back and add a chapter (and add a bit on the front of another chapter) between two others to make the second part flow better. I don't want to make this dumb thing any longer (it's already huge), but it cheapens a rather dramatic scene to not have proper build up, so I'm going to go back and add build-up. You won't even know it happened and that it's all artificially added after the fact. So ha!

- I beat Pokemon White. So I should have a vast increase in productivity. Theoretically.

- Part 2 is almost done. I'm guessing I have three to four chapters total left (including the one I left out). I'll probably go back and add that chapter tomorrow, then close out the part on Wednesday. I'm guessing it'll end at about 120k, making part 2 around 50k. I've said it a billion times but here I go again: this book is going to be huge.

- On that note, I'm already considering what exactly to trim and what to keep. Editing Paradise Seekers was good for me because it taught me that sometimes it is necessary to rewrite entire sections or cut entire chunks of book. The other major edit my books need is the "loose ends" edit. Often I mention things that I intend to bring up later, but since I discovery write the item didn't stick so it just...is there. Paradise Seekers is full of them, and Steelgods STILL has one that drives me crazy that I missed in editing (calling a non-Graffiting hand an "off hand" at the beginning of the book and NEVER USING THE TERM AGAIN EVER). Anyway, the point of all this is that I'll be both cleaning up and trimming.

- On THAT note, the part that I currently think needs the most revising is actually the part my writing group just finished. All I've submitted thus far was rewrites/reedits of what I wrote back in July when I first attempted this thing. Because of this, I've found the prose can be strong but the actual pacing doesn't match the rest of the book. It's slower than the YA, but not THAT slow and exposition heavy. I'm going to attempt (after finishing) another re-edit, and if it still doesn't work I may just scrap it all and rewrite it all dry (much like I did for the first 3 chapters of Paradise Seekers).

- Despite this [Effulgent Corruption] being huge, I still feel like I'm rushing through it. Drake's first part ends a bit too fast for my liking (though in a re-read I may consider otherwise), and Ciara's is just racing like wildfire. I'm sure I'll hear the other end from the readers ("It's too long!"), but I can't shake the nagging feeling there should be more stuff happening before the part's climax/conclusion. Ah well, pacing. I'll figure it out.

- I'm scared to set a goal, but I think I will anyway: End of April I'll need to be in part five at the latest. Part six is the last part, so I want this done by end of May. If I'm super amazing I'll be done by end April, then I'll have a month off (where I'll probably edit and submit Steelgods) before doing a June binge write (just like Paradise Seekers was last year).

I'm glad to be writing again. I also have a feeling my job (which I am taking calls for the first time tomorrow, then actually doing the job next Monday) will allow for a decent amount of free time. I've already decided that I'm going to write at least 1k at work a day, and try to devote all down-time writing as well. We'll see how much I can actually get done.

That's it from me. Time to go critique some writing group stuff.