Word Count:  34,516

A good day’s writing today. Words flowed, the plot thickened. But I eventually found myself in a blind alley with nowhere to go. I had to retrace my steps and find the place where the story veered off so madly, pick up the thread and start writing in a different direction.

Nothing’s wasted, though. The exercise has given me some fresh ideas for developing the storyline in the next chapters. I should listen to my characters more often; they know more about the plot than I do.