I have 4 1/2 weeks to write a book. Yes, you read that right. 4 1/2 weeks. The word DEADLINE hangs over my head like a big, black cloud. For those of you who might be wondering – yes, I am hyperventilating. A lot.
It’s not like this came out of nowhere. I’ve actually been working on the book since July 1. I’ve also thrown out no less than 12 first chapters. No matter what I tried, what angle I approached the beginning from, I simply couldn’t get the story to gel. I felt like I was forcing the action. No, I was forcing the action.
What killed me was that on paper, the character arcs and the conflict were awesome. I wanted this heroine and hero to have their happy ending. I simply couldn’t make the external plot work, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Thankfully I have brainstorming buddies. They came up with the answer in five minutes. It was so freaking obvious, and yet for all my staring at the pages, I was too deep in my own thoughts to see it.
Thanks to my brainstorming buddies, however, I have a working outline with plot points and everything. The first real structure this story has seen since I came up with the idea.
Now I just have to write it in 4 1/2 weeks. This is my process, sadly. It’s messy and painful. I don’t recommend it.
And I swore this would be the year I worked more productively. Apparently, I forgot to factor “brain freeze” into the equation.
