Fine tuned the rewriting protocol. Now, this isn’t discovering fire, but it’s very helpful. Since I constructed a chapter, I’ll need to deconstruct the chapter once a draft has been written. I break it down into distinctly different scenes. Different setting, different goal, different emotional state, etc. Then, I’ll go back and rewrite those individual scenes and highlight them in yellow when I’m done. Once, I’m done with all the chapter’s scenes, I’ll go back, re-read as it whole, then go back and make edits and mark it green when it’s done.

This seems so patently obvious but it’s been very helpful. I need regimented protocols. It makes the writing time much more approachable, manageable, and intentional.

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I’m halfway through rewriting and the book currently stands at 56k words. Now, if I extrapolate, the finished manuscript might extend to 110-120k words. Now, all the professionals out there are probably “You’re first novel must have an X amount of words” or “Or 120k words? That signals to me you need to edit.”

I get it.

But I’m not writing for them, right? I’m writing for myself. I’ve been re-reading so far and I’ll get a few pages in and be like “This is good.”

Abandoning this expectation the book needs to conform to certain standards and practices in order to fit a commercial paradigm is quite freeing.

Note: I’m not trying to gloat that I have a certain word count. The book has gained a life of its own and it seems appropriate to “go long and get detailed.”