Today went pretty well. I pulled the last section from the GN, stuck it in the new ms, and trimmed it up to get it ready for rewriting. But then I didn't feel like rewriting it so I moved to the second section (or so) and worked on that. What I did today (on that second section) feels sharp and crisp and meaningful, compared to the lollygagging first part I've been winding my way through. At some point this huge difference in style and voice and pacing will have to be resolved, but I'm not sure how.

Part of the difficulty is the lack of tension and conflict in the first part--I suppose I could eventually try snarking it up, because there is plenty to dig around in and snarkify, if I want. It's just that the voice would completely change. Argh. I don't know. I have to set up all this stuff in the first part--establish setting and world, establish characters, establish comfort and security so that I can demolish it later--and setting stuff up can be so boring.

I'm reminded of Penderwicks, with its scrumptious gingerbread and comfort and security that's about a mile in circumference and so thick you can barely breath while reading the book. Yet it totally held me--glued me to the page, in fact. Why??? I wonder if I still have the book, or if I lent it to somebody. Maybe I'll check. Or maybe I'll just keep working and wait till I'm back to the first section again before I go off on a wild Penderwick chase. Because I think the third section is going to have yet another feel to it, different from the first two, and if it does, my problems will be multiplied.