[tweetmeme source=”rebeccaenzor” only_single=false http://rebeccaenzor. com/ 2012/08/15/i-made-it-through/]
I made it, Aledans! I made it through the worst chapter of the entire book. The chapter that has never once worked in all the re-writes and edits. I beat it into submission, and it’s much closer to working now. It’s not perfect, but it’s closer. And that’s the point of the re-write.
The last scene almost killed me. In all the other versions of the story Kaye disappeared in the middle of the night. This time she has to say goodbye to everyone, and it’s heartbreaking. I couldn’t even try to write it from Kindra’s POV because I can’t get into her head at the moment. She’s so completely destroyed I’m afraid she might do something irrational (Kindra? Irrational? >:) Fun!).
And now I’ve officially reached that point in the novel where, uh, I don’t really know what’s happening for the next quarter. Actually, for the first time I know what’s going on with Kaye, but Kindra? She’s a time bomb ready to go off. I’ve got a couple things she needs to learn and do, and the fun part will be figuring them all out while I go. Because as much as I tried to plot this re-write, this section just wants to discover itself. And that’s where I shine 🙂
I’ve got two weeks to bang this out, fix anything that needs to change in the second half based on what’s about to happen, and re-write the query to match. I can write 25k in two weeks – that’s only half a NaNo.
In the meantime, if the New First Scene piqued your interest, I’ve put up the first five pages on the WriteOnCon forums.
And come back on Sunday for Custom of the Week. We’ll be celebrating the release of The Hunger Games with a HG-inspired pony!
Last but not least: HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO JILL AND SPOOKYGIRL! You may remember Jill from The Monster WIP post (she sells those adorable little monsters at Mint Conspiracy) or from the Top Ten Sci-Fi/Fantasy Custom Ponies (a cuddly Dr. Who pony? That’s even better than the Dr. Who custom I posted on Sunday!)
Rebecca Enzor 
Well done! Enjoy the discovery – it’s always one of my favorite parts of writing… things get a bit crazy and turns occur that weren’t anticipated. Kinda like driving a curvy mountain road for the first time.
lol, at first I read that last sentence as “Kindra likes driving a curvy mountain road” and I was like “She does?! How do you know more about her than I do?!” 😉
I love the discovery.
Congratulations. I know what it’s like to beat your head against a chapter that desperately needs a massive rewrite, but stubbornly resists all your attempts. I finally finished on of those the other day, but I’m afraid there will be many more such chapters before the book is done.
Glad you posted your writing on WriteCon. I would do that too if my story wasn’t fan fiction. Maybe next year I’ll be working on my own story and have something to send out.
Oh, there will be many more, my friend! But this one has been stubborn for the past ten years, so I’m glad I finally beat it into shape a little bit.
So far I haven’t gotten any critiques on it, but that’s ok. I’m sending those exact pages to the Crits for Water agent at the end of the month regardless!
That river was really cold to get in to, so mow I know how hard the rewrite is!! 😉
Yeah, it didn’t take ten years to get into that river 😉