Chapter 8 Done, Now in 9....

I finished the last scene of Chapter 8, and am now in the third scene of Chapter 9. There are some shorter scenes at the start of this chapter, so I'm only about 2000 words in at this point.

I'm seeing many more details for the scenes in the remaining chapters. I have definitely turned that corner now and am coming into the home stretch (the final chapters of the novel), although this is still a large chunk of work in its own right.

Some of my transitions are spotty and I'll fix that in the editing after the draft is complete. By this I mean some scenes may be a little short, or a small scene or two might be missing here or there that I haven't figured out yet that I need. The story flows just fine as it is, but I feel the distribution is a little uneven. It could also simply be that the pacing is different in this part of the story and the chapters are beginning to have more and shorter scenes, and to be shorter overall, consistent with building momentum toward a climax. The scenes were shorter in the beginning, too, then have been typically between 2,000 and 5,000 words throughout the middle, but now they're shorter again. It's just that things are moving forward at certain moments, building urgency and all that. So, I shouldn't worry unnecessarily, but I do suspect additional reflection will help me draw out some deeper elements of character develoment that I am still missing at this point, even though I'm focusing on that as much as I can as I write since that is what is ultimately driving the story (character).

I'm still working...It's going on 2 am and I'm still working...may work all night again. Want to finish this Chapter 9 tonight if possible! Or at least by Sunday evening.

Adrian