Wednesday WIP #14
IN THE NEWS: Man asks to be deported, can't afford US. Read more HERE.
Well, it's that time again. But not what you think!
Yes, it's WIP Wednesday, but I was thinking more along the lines of "it's that time when Jennifer starts to avoid her work in progress" time.
Why now--of all times--when I'm so close to finishing would I hesitate to write? Because I'm at the black moment part.
Eeep.
Yes, that point in my story when my poor hero and heroine have their hearts ripped out and then handed to them on a silver platter. Tsk, tsk. My heroine is really sweet and hardly deserves-- Well, it's all so terribly sad, really.
Anyhew, the heartache won't last and there WILL be a happily-ever-after, but I still avoid going there. (Even for a little while). Thus, I've been avoiding writing the next chapter... That will all change today and the rest of this week. I've already made a list of goals--which my critique partners are apprised of--so I have every intention of living up to them.
However, I did manage to make some progress last week. I finished a chapter and edited two. So here's what I have to show:
48000 / 50000 words. 96% done!
Yes, not huge. But still moving to the right.
So I'll take it.
Do you avoid the black moment part of your manuscript, too? Or am I the only one who feels sorry her characters? :)
19 comments:
It's really hard for me to be cruel to my characters, but I understand that I must. I'm one of those writers who wants them to be perpetually happy, only that makes for a very boring story ...
I'm trying to get to Devon and Shontae's HEA, and right now I'm in the middle of rewriting the black moment. It's not fun.
I don't know that I really avoid it. Usually that's when my ms. starts going well. It's the middle part leading up to that black moment that I have a hard time with. Congrats on being so close to finished! Just 2,000 more words.
I avoided it like the plague, but now it's my favorite part of the story. Good luck getting through it.
I just don't feel like being "down" right now. But I must!
In fact, I'm making myself right now.
Now.
Okay, NOW.
Because I write MG there aren't any moments that are too black. But I've avoided writing for plenty of other reasons :)
You are so, so, close to being finished!
The middle is usually when I get side-tracked, but making the resolution feel real isn't easy either.
Woo hoo, you're getting close to finishing. Sad about the characters, though. :(
I actually enjoy writing the black part of the novel. One, because it means I'm getting closer to the end and two, because I love that moment of resolution where things look up and then turn into something wonderful. Yeah, I pretty mush always have happy endings in my stories. I can't stand to leave my characters desolate or sad or broken.
Jennifer, I really hate to see my characters in pain. It seems they go from paramount crisis to the next.
Congratulations on your progress! I posted the Nano Meter on my blog to encourage me that others are watching my progress. It makes me remember that I have a goal to finish.
Blessings to you...
I am writing a non fiction book about fear so I guess my black moment happens once a day. :0) Congrats on your progress, Jennifer! That is an accomplishment to be proud of!
I guess I'm the opposite - I love to torture my characters. Probably because that's what creates the "connections" for me when I'm reading...emotional angst and tough times don't just bond my characters together (eventually), they bond *me* to the characters (and hopefully, my readers too).
The good times get boring for me pretty quickly, happily ever after, yada yada yada. The trials and tribulations, that's where my fingers (and the story) fly.
I love making my characters MISERABLE, but then I have the GUILT about wanting my characters to suffer so. You know, oh how could I be so mean to my people? Is there evil lurking beneath my psyche? :) Then I think, NAW! I want them to suffer sos they can have that happy ending.
I love the black moment part! I love making my MC ultra miserable then recooperating the fragmented storyline to an ultra yummy ending. *sigh* Sadly I am near the beginning myself.
I find the black moments interesting to write. Of course, I have to be alone while I write then. My son looks at me oddly when I make faces and mumble to myself while writing and asks too many questions that I really don't care to explain at the moment. Ah life.
My WIP post is up now.
I so struggle with keeping my main characters unhappy for very long. But, like Stephanie, my manuscript is much smoother after that moment. What I dread is rewriting up to that point.
I find my female characters go through a lot of turmoil. My male characters fight more of an internal battle. hmmm.
I don't necessarily enjoy writing the black moments in the story, but there are usually several. I like to get them done with so my characters can be happy sooner.
I do like the intensity of the emotion I can give to the reader during a dark moment though too.
awesome! Go you. :-)
Bah something ate my comment!!!
Those dark spots are hard to work though. I'm a little stuck on my WIP too because the plot weaves in and out of the past and present and I'm having trouble getting things like I want them.
Good luck with your scene!
I love writing emotion, so for Lost and Found, my black moment was written about two months ago. Now I have to write the other chapters and catch up with it!
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