Yesterday, I finished the first draft of Chapter 43! That may not seem like a big deal, but I have been struggling to write this one for several weeks. It required my characters to defuse a bomb, which meant more research, but it also meant creating some technology, because it’s an alien device. And then I had to describe it in non-technical terms, because that’s the kind of science-fiction novel this is. And I had to add in a lot of interpersonal conflict as the characters who have been grating on each other tried to work together, and had to make it suspenseful, because they are on a tight timeline with high stakes.
It’s a first draft and probably way too wordy and in need of serious editing, but I can do that later. For now, I am so relieved that this chapter is finished. Now I have to move on to another chapter and another bomb to defuse. But I think that one will be easier.
The Petrini Page 