Darragh Ó Bradáin

Should I ask for advice from the people I trust? Should I ask them to evaluate what I’ve written? No, actually. I shouldn’t. This is exactly not what I should be doing at this juncture. Sure, it’d be lovely to see what people think and if they’d be interested in finding out where I’m going next with the story, but that doesn’t serve the story. That serves my ego.

“Never look for feedback on the cake while it’s still baking.” These wise words were imparted to me today when I asked a friend if he’d look at what I’ve written so far. Rather than engage in this activity now, he said “Finish it first. That’s the rule.” And to be honest, that has just spurred me on to get the work completed. I won’t be hurrying it, though. I’ll use my time wisely. I’ll aim for 1,000 a day, and make sure to take a rest day from writing one a week.

So, update. As indicated by the title of this post, I have finished the first act of Witness to the Forgotten. It’s 7,229 words thus far. It’s a lot shorter than the roughly 13,000 first act of Lessons in Absence, but that’s a different story, with a different structure, which will be three acts. ‘Witness’ will likely be four or five acts.

How do I feel having brought the story this far? Quite well, actually. Every bit of the process so far has been a joy. I’ve discovered things about the protagonist that I had never planned, but of which the story couldn’t do without. Certain scenes were written as if I were pouring the words from my fingers. It was a real buzz. Not all of the process will be like this, I know that, or at least I’m trying to remain grounded about reality. There will be days when I’ll be staring at my computer screen with no clue what to do next. There’s also the challenge of maintaining continuity throughout the story. This project deserves care, and I will ensure that it gets what it deserves.