Yeah, could be that, too.

I'll probably keep playing with it off and on. I don't post long fic in LJ very often, so it's not something that really has an extreme adverse effect on my life. Hee. So, if I eventually figure something out, great, and if I don't it's no big. I prefer to do all my own html coding, so if the only thing I have to remember is the extra return between paragraphs, I think I'll survive.

I never use docx files anymore, because it seems that nobody in my acquaintance can open one.

I've been told that saving as docx is a huge memory saver, so I've been thinking about redoing all my files in it, at least for storage, even if I have to save as a 2003 for sending to someone.

Docx is smaller, but with 1TB drives having double digit prices, Word Processor document size just isn't an issue with me anymore. I'm sticking with .doc since nearly anything can open it.

If it's too late to incorporate, then I'll put looking at Sam to rest. I hope I was able to help in some small measure.

I'm getting close to having revised chapter 17 done, then 18, then the plot will start to accelerate and revision should get a bit easier. Once advantage to being a chapter ahead of both beta exchange people is more time to press ahead on revision. I've fallen behind where I'd like to be. My goal of finishing by the end of the year has been moved back to St. Patrick's Day. I'll be doing well to just get through the first revision by the end of the year and St. Patrick's Day may be optimistic.

I'm a bit torn right now on what to work on. OTOneH, I feel like the characters need more work to have more, you know, character and that makes me want to go back to earlier chapters to work on dialogue, physical beats, inner monologue (thought that's mostly one character), and descriptions. OTOtherH, I want to press forward, trying to do better on those things and going back later. Maybe I should just switch back and forth and multitask. I'm feeling kinda down about the whole thing and the main reason is the characters. OTThirdHand, doing that threatens to escalate word count and even my plan of cutting out a section of plot, word count might get too high.

My advice, for what it's worth, would be to continue work on the story, write it out to the end, revising as you go. You can make notes, or do character sketches, small scenes, backstory, but with no intent of including any of it in the actual book. It's just for you to flesh out the characters to yourself so you can write them clearer to your readers.

I think if you keep going back before you go forward you'll make yourself crazy, lose the natural momentum of the story, and the end won't ever measure up to the beginning.

...not that I'd know anything about that.

Bev, that passage that was driving me nuts? Continued driving me nuts and I tweaked it more (although I've moved on, I swear.) But it's up in my blog if'n you want to take a look and offer a thought.

I think if you keep going back before you go forward you'll make yourself crazy, lose the natural momentum of the story, and the end won't ever measure up to the beginning.

That sounds wise. The rough draft gives me a backbone, but the revision is so extensive that I think you're right about losing momentum.

I've just been worrying about the characters lately, well, you've been kind enough to read some of it so you've probably seen some of my concern. I think things are a little thin.

I really subscribe to the "do one thing all the way through" mode of writing. Finish this revision, then do another complete pass.

I really subscribe to the "do one thing all the way through" mode of writing.

I'm with Amy. I can get stuck on a single paragraph for two days if I don't trudge through the muck to get back into a rhythm.

I hate revising. Really I do.