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LAST WEEK'S PROGRESS
Chapter(s): 20-22
Pages Revised: 30
Became: 44 pages
Death count: 100+
Good things that happen: Well, at least someone escapes the carnage.
Bad things that happen: The schnizzle hits the fan. Innocence and security are illusions that have been shattered. At last.
In these three chapters, there is so much build-up to the (undisclosed) catastrophe that I was really shocked to see that in the original draft the actual catastrophe was over in less than three pages (?!). That wouldn't do at all. The catastrophe has to equal the weight of the build-up, else a reader might sneeze and miss the payoff, and that will never do. Therefore, I spent several days last week, expanding the carnage. I was trying for a GRRM "Red Wedding" kind of scene, but I'm not sure I nailed it. Nevertheless, it made for disturbing writing. There are good reasons why I don't write hack-n-slash or horror. My stomach, my nerves couldn't handle it. Point is, the bloodshed has begun, and for the Sons of Ilswythe, nothing will ever be the same again. And that's the way we like it.
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