"Finshed" with Chapter 7

When did I start working on this chapter? I can't remember. I still don't have a lot of confidence in it, but it's better anyway. 4-5 hours of work today--a Monday--after poking around at it at the end of last week. I'm not sure if tommorrow I'm going to continue to the next chapter or give this one another read with somewhat fresher eyes. I'll sleep on it.

To get going on it, I relied on freewriting, and one trick I used afterward was to go through and highlight some of the key discoveries from my freewriting. Then when I was feeling lost, including at the star of each session, I glanced through the freewriting at what I had highlighted to remind myself of what elements I was trying to build up in this chapter.

I have a feeling about this chapter . . . Whatever the problem is in it is a problem that is significant to the whole book. Like a key to a lock. I'm hoping that when I figure out this chapter I will gain an understanding about the book that will allow me to elevate the drama in the rest of the book. I'm pretty sure it's a problem having to do with character--a limitiation on my understanding of the character. This chapter is reavealing that limitation and my numerous attempts to patch it over are not working.

Tough couple of days

Last year I used to joke the day after my Tuesday night basketball games that the games were the biggest disruption to my writing schedule. But I'm playing again, and for real, it's no joke. I'm in a lot of pain the day after the games and besides that just mightily fatigued. I moved like a zombie all day yesterday and got nothing done, and today hasn't been a lot better. I'm going to have to find a way to deal with that--dramatically increase my coffee consumption or something, when I'm trying hard to decrease it otherwise.

I'm also going to have to do something about how OCD I'm getting about following the news. I'm having a lot of trouble resisting the endless media offerings online about whatever has my interest. (These days it's the election. Next month I expect it will be the baseball postseason.) I'm being very undisciplined.

Part of that is me, but I also know part if it is a response to the fear I have about the book right now. It rears up at different times--for instance when I have a lot of thinking to do to find my way through a really vague problem. It's necessary, but it means not making a lot of mileage, and the guilt and uncertainty makes me hesitate.

So yesterday, I didn't accomplish much except doing a little bit of that thinking--in the form of about 3 pages of freewriting about the specific problems in Chapter 7. And today I started to tackle Chapter 7, making a lot less progress than I should have for the amount of time I had, but some progress anyway.

So, unlikely that I'll finish the chapter tomorrow and therefore this week. But I'm determined to make good use of tomorrow. I see a path, and I'm going to walk it.

Nervous about Chapter 7

Not a lot of work today. I read Ch. 7 to prepare for the next rewrite, and I'm intimidated by how much work it needs. Right now it is a draft in the most customary sense of the word--a failed attempt at an unclear idea. To make it work I'll really need to dig deep, and the trick in these cases is not to think at all about making it work. You have to give yourself permission to make a mess.

Which means it's hard to set a schedule. Hopefully it won't take a lot of time, but this isn't like a to do list.

My schedule is about to change anyway. I picked up another paying gig today, so I'll be distracted with that until at least the end of next week. No more all-day sessions. Hopefully I'll be able to put in my usual 90-120 minutes each morning.