One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Sometimes in this crazy job of writing, for every step of progress I make, I end up taking a few steps back.

Case in point: I'm working like a mad woman on Beyond the Beast, my wolfie story. I had almost 80% of it finished and in the hands of my critique partners. Only 3-4 more chapters to go, and the first draft (well, truth be told it's more like the fourth draft, but the first draft that I got all the way through) would be done. Wahoo, right?

Uh-uh. See, my critique partners are kick-ass, take-no-prisoners people--my kind of women. No holds barred attitude, although done in love. And from Chapter 19 through 21 (the furthest I'd gotten), none of it was going to work. The heroine had accepted a major secret about the hero waaaaay too easily--I'd resolved the romance, which is the major story plot, and still had at least three chapters to go. Then there were all kinds of other questions that I absolutely have to answer, so all the way back to Chapter 15 for a major revision there, then adding bits and pieces of information along the way.

Aargh. And because I'm a linear writer (meaning I write from start to finish, no hopping around writing a scene at the end, then back to the middle) I had to make those changes before I could proceed.

So, if you've been paying attention, my stats on the side for Beyond the Beast have gone from 67,250 out of 85,000 words to 59,750. I had to chop over 7,000 words. Of course, I've been working on it since I first chopped, so I am making progress once again. And some of what I chopped (a really hot oral sex scene) will be used at the end of the book, so all's not lost. *G*

Phew. It's hard work, this writing gig.

I wouldn't change a thing!