Momentum

In the days that led up to my family's departure for Peru, I didn't do much writing on my novel, Dark Water. I had surpassed the hundred-page mark, congratulated myself on a great achievement, and then promptly stalled.

I had reached the start of a new chapter but I wasn't sure how I wanted to start it. I felt that I was blindly going forward with the investigation part of the story at a very fast pace and wanted to slow down, but wasn't sure how to do that.

So, I started reading what I had written so far, to see if there was something that I could take out of the first 100 pages and possibly put further in. I made notes and changes to the timeline that I've sketched out in a spreadsheet, and told myself that when I returned from vacation, I'd be ready to take up where I had left off.

While in Peru, I kept a notepad with me, and little ideas would pop up for which I'd jot down. There were some changes that I'd have to make to the story when I returned home and I had other ideas that would pop up in what I had already written.

During the first week that I was home, I set my novel aside, focusing on getting the images that I had captured on my camera edited and filed away. If you are a regular follower of my blog, you've seen many of my photos.

Last week, I turned my attention to Dark Water, applying the notes I had made in Peru and pulling some parts of the investigation out, placing them in a separate file that I can pull from later. I went to Chapter 8, which is where I had stalled, and looked at the page.

There was a heading at the top of the page that read "Thursday." It's the seventh day since the body of a woman was found in the Rideau River, near the Vimy Memorial Bridge. Below the heading is "Calloway," the lead inspector.

And below that, I wrote, "Some stories are buried too deep to stay hidden." Whatever the hell that means.

I was still drawing blanks, so I decided to go back to the beginning, to read the story yet again. As I read, other ideas came to me and I added them to the story. There were things that I thought an investigator should follow but hadn't come up with them before. They're there now.

It took me most of last week to re-read and build on what had taken me nearly five weeks to write, and as I approached Chapter 7, I felt I had an idea of where I wanted to go with Chapter 8.

Writing that chapter starts today.

I'm encouraged by what I've written so far. While I was on vacation, I read a murder mystery from another local author. The story was set in the Ottawa area and I chose this book because I thought it might inspire me for when I returned from my trip.

It didn't. It was, in my opinion, awful. I found relationships with the characters confusing and awkward. I found the story of the murder investigation trite and, at times, unbelievable. Several times, while reading the book, I wanted to put it down and walk away but I kept telling myself that this author has written dozens of books: that this book was actually short-listed for an award.

The story had to get better.

It didn't. I finished the book, feeling disappointed^*. While it didn't inspire me, it made me think that my own story was on the right track, that it was a compelling read.

Over the weekend, I asked DW if I could share what I've written so far, to get her take on Dark Water. She's one of my biggest critics and she's a fan of murder mysteries, so hopefully she can provide some helpful feedback.

Meanwhile, the story continues. I'm hoping that I can maintain the 20-pages-per-week pace that I had before I stalled on Chapter 8.

Wish me luck.

^* I finished that book while DW and I were flying from Lima to Atlanta, Georgia. I did not take the book with me when we departed the plane.