Just over a third of the way through. Y’all keeping up?

So far my pace has been up and down with this project. A bout of insomnia one day left me out of commission and losing about a day’s worth of work hours, which I had to catch up on by doing an extra 1,000 words for the last 2 work days, on top of the 2,000 I’m already trying to do each day. I did 3,045 words this past day, which is the most so far for this project. I finally hit the 20,000 mark yesterday!

I definitely lose track of time when writing action scenes, which is why I’m not too worried about having some extra material to write toward the end, cuz I may get through that quickly as the excitement amps up.

I also just did the introduction of one of the main characters, and I’m pretty happy about how it went. I may feel differently when I get around to editing, but I’ll bask in the enthusiasm for the time being.

Unlike Vampires Vs. Dragons, in which I had a protagonist who was a part of both worlds and wrote competing antagonists on both sides, I’m flipping it around in Orcs Vs. Wolves by writing a rival protagonist for each side, and then a single antagonist who is a problem for both. I don’t remember why I initially decided to take this different approach this time around, but it led to the development of two protagonist characters that I can’t imagine the story without now.

One unusual thing though is how long it takes for both to get properly introduced. The opening scene takes a bit of time, but serves mainly as a prologue, featuring neither of the protagonists, but they get introduced in detail in different parts of what I think is going to be Chapter 1.

One thing I feel like I’m overwhelming myself with is the sheer number of characters, many of which only have minor roles but are still developed in detail. This project started with a desire to write about goblins in a post-apocalyptic setting. I thought it would be fun and offer a new context of creativity for me. It seems I may have been on to something.

How far have you guys gotten in your stories? Are you following the classic three-act story arc, or shaking it up a bit? Let me know in the comments!