First Summer Update

Even though I was able to get a little scattered writing done last week, I have officially begun my writing schedule and this is, therefore, my first official summer update. I will admit that I was very tempted to take a nap this afternoon instead of writing (that's what being at the park in the hot sun with two small children all morning will do to you), but I made myself a cup of coffee and decided to power through it. I started off well today! I had already written about two thirds of my first chapter, so I finished that off and got well on my way through my second chapter, totalling about 7 1/2 pages for the afternoon. That puts me on track with my writing schedule, so I'm pleased. I've introduced a few new characters already and am busily fleshing out the old. It's fun to be able to write Darcy and company more as teenagers now rather than as middle schoolers. There's a whole other dynamic that goes into the character development. I'm also working hard to make Darcy more likeable this time around. Not that that was off track with my original plan, but I realized recently that one of the reasons why I made Darcy so unlikeable in the first book (and the second, although hopefully not to the same degree) is because she is so heavily based on ME at that age, and I really didn't like myself at that age. So, enough with the self-deprecation! My heroine now needs to be loved! But, again, this works in with my original plan and what I think is a natural character development for her at this time. Hopefully it all works out!