They say identifying your problem is the first step to solving it (#SFWApro)

As I mentioned last week, Southern Discomforts braked to an awkward stop right before the 60,000 word mark. This week I crossed the last stretch to that benchmark, but I still felt like something was wrong. So I devoted several hours of fiction-writing time to figuring out what was off.
Eventually I got it. I’d been (I think) steadily building as Gwalchmai’s attacks on Candleston, Maria and Joan increased in intensity. But at around 58,000 words, everything lost steam. That’s partly because I don’t want Gwalchmai to be purely homicidal, nor is Maria the type to go hunting him down. But that left me with no real pressure. This is partly because some of the threats from my previous draft no longer happen in this draft.
So I’ll be going back a few thousand words and writing them over. Show the FBI getting in the way by actually using their brains (they’re not dumb, but they’re still not prepared for a supernatural adversary). Increase the pressure on Maria and Olwen. Give Gwalchmai a reason to be careful, despite being unkillable.
I still haven’t worked out the solution for all of it, but I can see the direction to go. I’ll look over it again next week after it’s lain in my subconscious for a bit.
Other than that, it was time travel all the way. I have my list more or less firmed up, using various sources, though I know of several more that will pop up in the coming year (Outlander on Starz! for instance). I will keep checking regularly, though, because I know my list’s not complete, even for American stuff: just this morning Hulu’s You Might Like This recommendation pointed me at Random Quest, a parallel-world film.
I got a tentative go-ahead for another magazine article (more details when and if it’s approved). And Impossible Takes a Little Longer came back. They liked the title, that was about it.
Interestingly I put in more hours writing this week than I expected. The nice thing about working on the film book is that it’s easy to work on, even if I’m exhausted, so a bad night of sleep isn’t so big an issue.