Edit Preemptively

Yesterday I reread my draft from the very beginning and came to the dismal conclusion that in order to move forward in the direction I want, I'm going to have to cut out and completely replace a scene near the beginning which had seemed to me merely expository, but which I've come to realize is a fairly major key to my protagonist's circumstances and character. It's certainly a good thing that I've recognized this now, instead of two weeks from now when I've written 5,000 more words that depend on this scene, but it's always depressing to see yourself going backwards.

However, in the process I've learned a lot about my protagonist and what has to happen to her. As a result of this scene, her trajectory will go from being largely driven by outside influences to being an internal conflict of personal morality, which is a lot less reactive. The rewriting of the scene, which will be accomplished over the next few days, will undoubtedly open up a lot of possibilities. So it is, overall, a Good Thing.

I suppose.

Damn it.

Word Count: 25,963 (-1,074)