Sunday 5th July 2020

So after my procrastination yesterday, I actually sat down to do some writing/ editing.

I always find the start of projects a little slow.  I think first chapters are so important for setting tone, and I don’t know if it’s just fear manifesting itself or if it’s some skill I’ve not been able to define beyond a gut feeling, but I spend a lot of time worrying about the tone in that first chapter.

This draft does seem to be setting protagonist and antagonist against each other from the start.  There certainly feels a lot more agency.

The protagonist is also a lot more angry.  This is part of the emotional character arc I’ve mapped out as part of the outline.  I think by knowing when I need to start softening it, it allows me to go full out.

Of course, I worry if this changes the main character a little too much?  At this stage of drafting, I worry about everything.  I want it pitch perfect.  It never is, and it’s only as I progress I feel more at ease at letting a book be what it wants to be, rather than what I want it to be.

I got 2 chapters done today.  That’s a lot, especially given it’s the start of the project.  I did actually change a fair bit, not so much in terms of words, but in setting up the conflict.

I came away from it feeling good.  I like the agency.  I worry that the protagonists anger is a little too extreme and I need to dial it back.  We’ll see.  I’d like this to be a speedy draft, not because I am desperate to get it complete, but because I want to feel like the processes I’ve put in place now work and are effective.

I’ve not got any major changes for a few chapters yet so perhaps I’ll be able to speed through the next few days.  Who knows though?  Sometimes it’s the change of tone in those little off-the-cuff protagonist comments that take the most thought.

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