Procrastination, or processing?

So I’ve been avoiding my manuscript for weeks now.

Not entirely, but more than I should. When I started working on it after re-reading my sequel, I was driven. I had a clear picture in my head of exactly what had gone wrong with “In the Dark” and how to fix it. I burned through the first 150 pages in about four days. ZOOM. Then I hit the second half and sort of went “whoa.” There were some major problems there. Major. I introduce the next big conflict, escalate things a little, then a little more, then everybody just sort of drifts until the next big escalation comes right before the finale.

Not good.

But simply cutting that material, as was my first impulse, wouldn’t work either. There are some pretty important plot points in that stuff. I tried cutting everything out around those plot points, leaving them in place, but then the story doesn’t make a lot of sense any more.

I wrote down my two main characters’ motivations and what I want them to go through/discover as this part of the book progresses, wrote up a new synopsis, started re-writing chapters and just . . . nothing. I didn’t feel like the action was ratcheting up like it should. I kept slogging through, but not at the wild pace I started at. Now I can’t remember what Josephine said to Ian at the climax of the first part — it’s important, I know, and Ian references it several times, but I have to go back and look to see just what it was. The price of moving too slow.

I pulled out my sheet of paper that had Ian and Sebastians’ motivations listed on it, and I suddenly realized something. I have my two good guys’ motivations and experiences charted out — what about the BAD guy?

Another look revealed my bad guy sitting on his hands more often than not. He shows up to make trouble when there’s nothing else going on with my good guys and very randomly escalates the whole situation. But wait — isn’t the bad guy SUPPOSED to move in and make trouble for the good guys? Especially when they’re already dealing with other crap? YES!!!

So, a third list is now crammed in tiny writing under the first two: The antagonist’s motivation and experience. What should he be doing? Going through? How should his wants and needs escalate into the climax? Time to edit my synopsis. Instead of cutting pages and pages of material, suddenly I’m adding material — stuff the bad guy would do to the good guys to make their lives more annoying and difficult.

And you know what? I think it’s working.

I thought the second half of my book was kind of boring, drifty, not much happening but a lot of brooding. The bad guy sticks his head out and says “Boo!” once, and that’s it. Now, though — now the main characters are brooding, but the bad guy is driving them toward the big climax at the same time, busting in on their brood sessions to fuck with them and throw them further into chaos.

I think I’ve got this thing.

And I think it’s time to get back to work.