Well it didn't happen
So I was hopeful of putting a Big Bang entry in this year, but it didn't happen. I made it to the requisite 20,000 words a couple of weeks before the deadline for first drafts and realised the story had barely made it out of the beginning and into the middle! That was a shocker. Tying things off quickly felt like a cheat Not to mention it is really obvious to readers - because I've read too many big bangs where that's been done and they've been deeply unsatisfying.
Not long after I withdrew I found a series of livejournal entries by Jim Butcher jimbutcher (author of the Dresden Files) about structuring stories. They are brilliant. It made me realise why some bits that I'd written that felt unsatisfying were that way. I highly recommend them to authors looking for a way to get through that morass that is the middle of a long story.
I haven't given up though. I'm still writing, though it's in dribs and drabs at the moment while I get bits of the plot that I'd glossed over (with an airy wave of the hand and a good old Aussie "she'll be right") actually sorted out. My aim is next year's Big Bang. Wish me luck!
Not long after I withdrew I found a series of livejournal entries by Jim Butcher jimbutcher (author of the Dresden Files) about structuring stories. They are brilliant. It made me realise why some bits that I'd written that felt unsatisfying were that way. I highly recommend them to authors looking for a way to get through that morass that is the middle of a long story.
I haven't given up though. I'm still writing, though it's in dribs and drabs at the moment while I get bits of the plot that I'd glossed over (with an airy wave of the hand and a good old Aussie "she'll be right") actually sorted out. My aim is next year's Big Bang. Wish me luck!