I wrote an awful lot today. A few days ago, I managed to get draft 1 up to about 4,500 words. I then hit a snag, where I wrote some dialogue that I really, really liked. But it didn’t work at all for the story (it felt like I’d written myself into a wall, where there was nowhere to turn). So I spent some time mulling the scene over, trying to figure out where exactly it went wrong and what I could do to fix it. In the end I realized that most of the dialogue I liked had to go, so I killed it and powered on through about 3000 words, bringing the draft up to the required 7,500 words I need to submit it to the contest. Along the way, I also fixed up the remaining problem areas of my original four sections.
Having gotten the length I wanted, I’ve decided that now is the perfect time to put the story aside for a couple of days before beginning a round of editing. I’m quite interested to see what will need to be fixed once I give myself a bit of space from the story. I know for a fact that there are some areas that will need extensive edits, as well as some smaller things that will need changing. But all of that can wait as I take a break and celebrate this draft being finished!
An Acquaintance with Letters 