The Outer Dark

The draft isn’t done, but the first 50,000 words are. Feeling good.

I thought I would have a more detailed post today, but I just finished my words for the day, so I’ll just leave you with the word count: 2,014.

They came alright but I’m definitely pantsing this section and expounding in areas I didn’t expect or outline. I don’t feel as confident in these words but there are gems of ideas to be mined and cut and polished.

Starting chapter six. This is where things get weird, so I’m excited. See you tomorrow.

8 - 1760 words. Skin of my teeth. More tomorrow (today).

START: 7:15 PM END: 9:30 PM DAILY WORD COUNT: 1,768 TOTAL WORD COUNT: 16,098

The power is back! Spent some time today running errands in the wake of being without electricity for two days, and having a mild mouse problem my uncle needed some help with. I got a later start than usual, but managed to get my words in without much fuss. I expect to get more work done in the coming days as my weekend plans will slow me down again. But it’s been good to get back in the saddle with a proper keyboard and not have to rely on my phone.

Also, finished another chapter! Four under my belt now for the second draft, and it just about wraps up this act. All the major characters have been introduced, but the final hooks need to come into play in chapter five. Going to have fun with this one.

One concern: One dimensional characters. I know a few of them will be fleshed out more in another pass, but it’s still a concern at this point. I actually feel like I’m overcompensating with lesser characters, making them a little more fleshed out because I knew they may feel hollow. But I need to spread the love evenly, I think.

One surprise: Finding tension and catharsis in the quiet moments, and through that, Blake’s voice.

One delight: Having fun writing the only American character in the book. And I’m enjoying the few small Ruby moments that happen early on too. She kind of skirts the main plotline in a slalom that I expect will have a hard collision with Blake’s path in the coming chapters.

Still no electricity today. Drove around a bit to get some charge back in my phone and did my words on the Google Doc app. Hitting near bare minimum but power should be restored before I wake up and I’ll be back at it in full force. I may come back and edit this and my previous posts with some stats later.

Be well!

START: 2:00 PM END: 3:30 PM DAILY WORD COUNT: 1,841 TOTAL WORD COUNT: 10,824

Words came easy when I brought myself to write them. My schedule is slipping so chances are I’ll end up writing more before bed, but those will count toward tomorrow’s batch. Crossed 10K! A fifth of the way through NaNo on Day 4 isn’t bad. I think I’ll be closer to 70K for this draft, and I think I can manage that this month, even with my other projects.

One concern: Orientation isn’t organic to me. The location is a bit of a maze. And the timeline is rough as well. I had no trouble pantsing my way through today, but it will need shoring up in the edit.

One surprise: Blake has more agency at this point than I expected, and Margaret is surprisingly fun to write. As is Ruby! She appeared at the end of the current chapter and I didn’t know what I’d get out of her, but I’m pleased and surprised.

One delight: When I finished my words for today I still had energy to work on another project.

START: 1:00 PM/11:00 PM END: 2:00 PM/11:30 PM DAILY WORD COUNT: 3,909 TOTAL WORD COUNT: 8,983

Chapters 1-3 are done, and 4 is started. A bulk of the characters have been introduced as well. Everything has been happening very mechanically. I’m allowing myself to write. Just doing it. It’s feeling good. I feel a lot like I did when I was working on the first draft of The Devil from the Outer Dark. It was like I kept the words in so long they just spilled out. Trying to maintain the whole Hemingway thing and keeping the well semi-full so it’s easier to come back to the next day.

Also, about 1K of my words today were really yesterday’s after I posted my update. Still got quite a bit done though. One concern: I’m really just sprinting through the beats. There’s no flavor yet. I’m going to have to punch this up in editing a lot.

One surprise: The free-flowing nature of the words is nice. I didn’t quite expect it to feel this way.

One delight: The cast is filling out nicely and the different personalities are fun. As I write some are informing themselves, and the chemistry is really interesting to see happen in real time.

See you tomorrow!

START: 4:00 PM END: 6:30 PM DAILY WORD COUNT: 2,139 TOTAL WORD COUNT:  5,074

I continued outlining today, and transitioned into drafting, which was my initial goal, so everything is on track. Feels good to be working on this story again, though I did start later in the day than I intended and did not put as many hours as I would like.

One concern: The balance of mystery/horror is hard to tune. I’m getting the sense that I need to drizzle a bit of each throughout to help sell this story. Blake seems to be lacking agency in the outline as well. Can’t have that.

One surprise: I was full of excitement and dread while transitioning into this draft, but the words actually came easier than expected. They may be hot garbage, but they’re hitting the beats I outlined without feeling forced.

One delight: My outline has each named character in a position of relevance/agency at some point. Still worried about bloat, but right now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is hanging around that shouldn’t be there.

START: 2:30 PM END: 6:00 PM DAILY WORD COUNT:  2,935 TOTAL WORD COUNT:  2,935

I stuck to outlining today. Listed potential scenes from the get go. My motivation endured the first hour but flagged later in the afternoon as distractions started cropping up. The first third of the outline is incredibly detailed. Toward the end of that section, it began to resemble stream of consciousness brainstorming though. I think this is good. I worked my way through some challenges that I’ve been vacillating on for years.

The middle is looking mushy, and aimless, if I’m honest. And the ending doesn’t seem earned yet. I think this is something that will become clearer once I draft more and flesh the characters out. Tomorrow I plan on trying to pad out those sections, then transition to drafting.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Literally. Dreary day. In the book and out. If I’m honest, I’m feeling intimidated by this project. But I’m still excited, and still feel ready to tackle it.

One concern: I’m worried I still have too many characters. And this is after cutting the initial cast down from the first draft. I may have to make concessions here. I’m not going to be precious. Dead weight has to go.

One surprise: I figured out a character that has only been a blurry presence for a long time. They came into focus in the outline, and I’m looking forward to writing some scenes with them.

One delight: I am confident that rewriting Coldwater Sound is the right thing to do. Yeah, the first draft is already done. Yeah, I’m scrapping 95% of it in favor of something completely different. But it’s right. There are scraps from that manuscript that may find new life in future projects (Kenny Deegan, I already miss you). See you tomorrow!