elfs | And this is the place where I lose my nerve... (Reply)

I hit 21,700 words in my latest story, and it's make or break time: either I'm going to give up here, or I'm going to make it to 65,000 words. Trouble is, I no longer know where the story is going. I think I need to go back and re-write the 20,000 I have so far because the enmity between Omertum and Misuko isn't strong enough, there's not enough splashover to Linia. About the only thing I've done is wreck Shandy's career, but I haven't figured out how to put it back together again. The scene where the robots decide to go on strike is just stilted; maybe I need to cut it out and just show the consequences-- show, don't tell, in other words. It was a good run, almost 10,000 words a week. I can probably keep it going. I'm just frustrated because I've got a bit of block. (I don't believe in writer's block per se; I believe in failing the story, fearing the story, or being tempted by another story that's not so fraught with writer anxiety, of which I have plenty-- both the anxiety and the easy stories).