I’m working, I’m getting things done and the whole manuscript is coming together nicely, but often the page count just sits there, seemingly idle, even while great progress is being made – I work from note files, pulling bits from a selection of them into one working file where the next section is prepared, woven, polished and then finally transferred across to the main file, the manuscript itself.

Sometimes there is a lot ready to go in and I will work for a time just feeding stuff through, giving visible growth to the project at hand. As my working files deplete, gaps start to show in them, meaning I can see upcoming areas that need work, and which characters need more to do or say. That also means I will switch back to working in those files in preparation for the next large transfer across.

It’s all necessary and it’s all growth, but while I’m working in my note files, the page count for the manuscript stays still.

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