by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
So. I was pretty sure everything was working with the first chapter of the second draft of the novel when…it all fell apart. The reason is a matter of structure. I realized there was a way to to squeeze things down to the point that I could have an inciting incident around the middle of the second chapter.
But to do that, I am going to rework much of what I’ve already done. So, in a sense, I’m back to ground zero. Sort of. I definitely know what I’m going to but it’s going to take some work, some elbow grease, to get back to exactly where I was just a little bit ago.
It’s just a serious pain in the butt because I start thinking that maybe I’m being a perfectionist and I’m kind of spinning my wheels as a result. Or, at least, I feel I am. It’s all very frustrating.
But I feel if I just suck it up and stop overthinking things, I will be able to produce a second draft that is so good that I might be able to get Beta Readers who are actually willing to read the entire thing at a quick clip instead of getting all excited at first then….gradually going quiet.
I’m need to stop overthinking thing. I need to just plow through this and get something done as soon as possible — I need to keep my eyes on the prize and wrap up this second draft ASAP. I can’t keep spinning my wheels forever.
