The Terry Pratchett Prize, Round Two...

[Quatermass]

Agreed. Calling me 'P' will only serve to provoke childish sniggers in the Pnut gallery.

At the moment, I am taking a break from writing the book. I want to try and finish the second A Song of Ice and Fire book, A Clash of Kings.

[Quatermass]

Okay, a mild setback. After writing a section, I've found dissatisfaction with it. A character is turning out malevolent too quickly. Not a major setback, but it means starting a new draft so that I can keep that section without having to worry too much.

And by starting a new draft, I mean copying the draft I have into a new Word file, and then removing the section.

Why don't I just delete it, you ask? Well, I want to use it later. Nothing wrong with the scene per se, but it's too much, too soon. However, even with this setback, I'm over 25K words in.

[pip]

Progress either way . Good stuff

[Quatermass]

Progress either way . Good stuff

Yeah. Unfortunately, despite the padding, I'm not sure that I've done enough character development all around. That can wait until I've finished the novel, as the story itself is sound enough.

I think part of the problem may be is that I have too many characters, and not enough development of any of them. I might have to cut some out later...

[pip]

Progress either way . Good stuff

Yeah. Unfortunately, despite the padding, I'm not sure that I've done enough character development all around. That can wait until I've finished the novel, as the story itself is sound enough.

I think part of the problem may be is that I have too many characters, and not enough development of any of them. I might have to cut some out later...

You can always simplify a few of the characters and push time into the background .
Not easy i know but worth a try

[Quatermass]

Progress either way . Good stuff

Yeah. Unfortunately, despite the padding, I'm not sure that I've done enough character development all around. That can wait until I've finished the novel, as the story itself is sound enough.

I think part of the problem may be is that I have too many characters, and not enough development of any of them. I might have to cut some out later...

You can always simplify a few of the characters and push time into the background .
Not easy i know but worth a try

I've managed to get the story progressing again, and have included a new character/device to frame things better. And if I'm lucky, I might be able to get it up to 30K words either today or tomorrow, depending on motivation and/or interference from real life.

[Quatermass]

Well, looks like my earlier pronouncement was optimistic. I decided to start watching a number of my Doctor Who DVDs that I hadn't before, and what writing I did do was for another book. I'm also somewhat depressed, so I'm lacking motivation to write at the moment. However, I foresee no real troubles with the book at present, and once I get the motivation back, I'll see what I can do.

Current word length: about 26K words.

[Quatermass]

Over 30K words down, and a vital chapter finished!

[ShadowNinjaCat]

Nice going Q,stay positive and keep writing.

[Quatermass]

Well, about 34K words down, and I've started on a critical chapter. I'm finally gaining some momentum...

[Quatermass]

I don't think I'll ever say anything like 'gaining momentum' ever again. That's just tempting fate.

Although I have a perfectly workable story, I was struck today by how it could be made so much better. I need to plan this change.

[Quatermass]

Okay, feeling a little better. Managed to do over 17K of the revised version of the story, thanks to copying and pasting. Of course, this is up to the point where things are going to diverge, so time to concentrate...

[Quatermass]

Well, back up to where I was before, at a pivotal point in the story, and with enough rewrites that I am satisfied for the time being. So, 36K words down. 44K to go...

[Quatermass]

For the time being, I'm putting this book on the back burner. I'm now up to 131 drafts, and I'm lacking the motivation to take this one any further, especially as I have a more interesting story (albeit one ineligible for the TP Prize) begging to be told...

[Quatermass]

I've decided to abandon writing the version of my book intended for the TP Prize. It's too hard to write within the restrictions imposed (I'd be better writing up to 50K, not 80K words), and I have found a more enticing story to write.

If I do manage to get the motivation for writing this book back again for the TP Prize, or else find a better story, then I'll use it.