#utel

just rambling now, but it look me a couple of iterations to realize that the story i want to tell at this point in the series is mack's: the progression of his character and his resolve that will become a driving force in the college arc. while there's lots of interesting potential with will's POV and his first experience playing with the sharks, it doesn’t ultimately contribute the right way to core narrative of this relatively short interlude. so yeah, scrapping that and starting over.

this interlude as a whole has been hard for me to write because i didn't initially plan for it nor have a clear vision from the start on what it needs to be. for me, if i have clarity on the objectives / essence of the fic before i start, the writing goes smoothly; otherwise, it quickly spirals into a mess of "what the hell am i doing?"

byline was probably the fastest i've ever written because it just flowed, like i knew exactly what i wanted it to become and so there was less self-doubt along the way. i also have a solid idea of what i want the college arc to be. but getting this summer interlude done has been like pulling teeth :'(