Day 120

I haven't finished writing Part I of The Terrapin's Trail yet, but I'm already rather excited about Part II, which takes us from 1945 to 1961, back to South East Asia.

I'll just have to come back and finish Part I, since I have NO IDEA whatsoever, right now, on how to finish the last scenes, which are pivotal to the entire story. I need time to think that over.

In considering Part II, I've decided to write it in first person. I woke up one night with the clear notion in my head that Part II must be written in first person, which is a departure from the rest of the book (3rd limited).

The transition from 3rd to 1st, however, proved to be problematic. Partially because I found myself having to dig deeper into my characters and listen to their voices. Also, trying to figure out how to begin Part II brought me back to the beginning of the novel, and I found myself facing the same question: Where and how to start a story? In many ways, Part II is like a new story, with some of the same characters, but a whole different set of situations.

It took me a few days to figure it out, and I stalled at writing in first person. The voice didn't come out quite right and I struggled a bit. Fortunately, a few days later, as I plowed through the material, I came to terms with my character's voice and finally began to get into the grooves. I realized, my instinct of writing Part II in 1st person is a sound one.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to this part of the adventure. It's going to be satisfying.

1000 words, 37500 words total
245 days and 148000 words to go