So: Embers Part 2 is chugging right along. What was the secret to getting Part 1 finished? Turns out I was overthinking it. What I needed to do was get Cutie out of the house one Saturday (he went off to explore TCAF), have some Monster drink (half-a-can and watered down; any more and I can see through time but not in a good way), and then plant my bum in the chair and WRITE. And I did.

I finished Part 1 and started Part 2 the following Monday.

So. That was easier than I expected.

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Part 2 is currently about 13K in; I have set myself up a fake NaNo-type goal. I have an app that manages this for me. 2205 words a day, M-F, until the end of June will give me a nice round 75K. Whether 75K is enough to tell this particular story we’ll have to see; I had hoped that Embers (both halves) would equal 75K-100K in total but as Part 1 was 65K on its own, that hope is dead. I am mulling over the notion that Embers Part 1 might have to be a separate book from Embers Part 2. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

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Just like in a real NaNo, I’m suffering from what I call the Week 2 Weepies. The first week is fun; the second week is a slog. (Health issues don’t help.) It’s work. The first week the ideas come fast, everything flies together and I am so very excited to be where I am; the second week everything is toilets, my characters are all Mary Sues/Gary Stus, and I am very clearly a hack.

A HAAAAAAACK.

I am sure those of you who do NaNoWriMo will recognise the W2W.

The nice thing is that, now that I have a couple of these under my belt, I can kinda separate myself from them, and know that next week will be better. So here’s to at least a 5K day next week, and to getting back on track! In the meantime, I’m letting the Weepies subside by easing up my word goals and focusing on my website instead. My friend/developer A. has decreed that my designs are less than 2 HPU (hair pulling units), which is excellent. Page layout is done. Just have to figure out how to do the blog, then I can upload the designs to him, and that’s one less thing on my plate for June. Fingers crossed!