The way these characters just built their own little world in that first act. 💖
We're doing this guys!
We're rewriting the series from scratch and we're off to a beautiful start!
Now...bring on the body count. 😏
My entire thought on word count:
How things are going for the protagonist / love interest by the end of Act 1. 🤗
It's quite a journey for them just from that first act alone.
They get to enjoy the calm before the storm for just a little bit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZM...
Interesting. Can you give an example?
This helps me pace the story more effectively.
Since the novel has so many layers, I need each narrative thread to move at the right pace without slowing the whole story down.
A clearly defined structure lets me track the progression of each thread, including its peaks and valleys, per act.
Finished the updated Act 1 outline.
The 16-sequence structure worked well!
Each narrative thread has a self-contained arc within each act, so diving each act into four sequences gives each section its own shape.
Basically, a four act structure within the four act structure PER narrative thread.
*nods*
I've been unconsciously letting word count hold me back for too long.
I'm self-publishing, so my consideration is more "reader preference" which is influenced by the traditional model, but not limited to it.
You know what?
Maybe the traditional 70,000-100,000 word count for dark psychological thrillers isn't for me.
Gone Girl was 145,000+ words.
That feels more natural than trimming the life out of my books. I'm not an overwriter. I don't embellish descriptions.
I just have a lot of story to tell.
Going where no writer has gone before... 16 sequence structure.
I know there is 8 sequence structure.
But that isn't doing it for me.
Doubling and seeing how that works.
It will either fix my problem or confirm I once again have "too much story" in my story.
Act 1 is so jam packed. 😅
I know I'll need to return and edit it again.
I've removed a lot these extra threads in the past, but for the rewrite, I actually want to keep most of them and just streamline them as much as possible.
I'm being so ambitious with Book 1. I just want Act 1 to be perfect.
Being able to give a detailed summary of your novel in less than 1000 words.
What a flex. 😎
Broke my pinky toe! 🤕
Anyway, I really want to hold my novel in my hands, so all I'm thinking about is finishing this rewrite. 😅
I really want to work on Act 1 for all the books in my series.
Considering whether that's the approach I want to take.
Rather than book by book, go act by act across the series.
My brain has a funky way of working, and its usually jumping book to book, so why fight it during the rewrite? 😆
Am I allowed to love my series this much??????
Like...deeply, deeply?????
God does not condemn the person who reaches zero.
He provides.
Rewatching X-Files this month really clarified what I wanted to do with my series.
The Mulder/Scully dynamic is so clean and crisp: Mulder leads with intuition and belief, while Scully grounds the case in evidence (lab results, scrutiny, and science).
Each brings a distinct lens, which I love!
I hadn’t clarified this in earlier drafts, so each character’s role lacked distinction and the narrative felt muddy.
Now, the characters are sharply defined and their roles clearly stated, which makes them much easier to write.
2026 has been the roughest year of my life, but I feel like if I can finish revising my WIP-series and actually hit the publish button before the year is over...everything will be okay.
I officially have enough distance from Book 1 that I can immediately see what belongs in the book and what doesn't.
That took about 6 months of being away from it, by the way. 😆
Only 108 and more pages of notes left to go through for Book 1.
Almost there!
Going through my draft + notes is so funny because literally every minute, I pause, and I'm like, "Okay, I have questions..."
I'm so brutal with my past self. 😂
Anyone else struggle to cap a book at 100,000 words?
When you get right down to it, there isn’t that much space in a single novel, is there?
There’s only so much story, detail, or complexity you can fit into one book. Once you organize your material, it becomes clear, you really only have room for what’s essential.
Or is it just me?
More MC and LI vibes... 💘
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVr3...
