The Final Battle

In spite of writing nearly 7,000 words yesterday, I didn't finish the book. I've outlined the scenes I have left to write, and I may need another 7,000 words. I guess I thought I was writing the end of Star Wars, picking up yesterday just at the start of the attack on the Death Star, so all that was left to go was the big battle scene, with a few cutaways to the people at the rebel base looking worried and to the people on the Death Star at first arrogant, then worried, and then the "Yay! We did it! And Han isn't total slime, after all!" scene and then the awards ceremony.

But instead, I think I'm writing the end of Return of the Jedi, picking up yesterday as everyone heads off to their places to carry out the big plan to destroy Death Star 2.0. Yeah, all that's left to write is the final battle and the "Yay! We did it!" scene, but that final battle has a lot of stuff going on and is actually three final battles. There's the Luke part of the plot, where he gets himself taken to the Death Star, gets taunted by the Emperor into the duel with Darth Vader, then realizes what he's doing and gives up so that he's attacked by the Emperor so that finally Darth Vader gets over that teenage snit he's been in for more than twenty years and actually does something to help his kid. Meanwhile, there's the battle on Endor when they realize how well-guarded the shield generator is and they have a race against time to get to the generator and destroy it. And then there's the space battle around the Death Star and the attempts to destroy it. Even the "Yay! We did it!" stuff gets pretty complex because there's the reconciliation between Vader and Luke, followed by the viking funeral, there's Han's "Well, if you want to be with Luke ..." and Leia's "Ewww! He's my brother!" bit where they finally really get together, plus (in the special edition) the galaxy-wide party and then the Ewok festival. So, just having the final battle and the "Yay! We did it!" part left doesn't mean the book is nearly done. I would estimate that I'm near the part where Luke has just about beaten Darth Vader in the duel before stopping himself.

So, it looks like I've got another busy day of shutting myself away with the computer ahead of me. I know of people who move into motels or cabins in the woods when they need a serious writing binge. I don't know how helpful that would be for me. These are generally people who have kids and spouses, so moving away allows them to shut out the usual distractions and the need to deal with other people. Hiding in a hotel room and living on room service means all you have to do is write and not prepare meals or clean up after people. The only thing I have to do to avoid distractions is refuse to answer the phone. I do still have to cook for myself, but if I needed a full-on writing binge, I could cook in advance and have leftovers to nuke. I don't think this is going to be that kind of marathon. If I'm good, I should be able to finish this afternoon.

I did get my living room mostly cleaned out, though, while I was taking a TV break last night. There's just a little work to do in there before it is the kind of place where I can go to relax when the book is done. Then I just need to deal with the bedroom and bathroom, which mostly involves putting clothes away. The office is beyond hope at the moment, but if I get the "living" parts of the house spiffed up, that will make life more pleasant, and then I can tackle my office as a major project.

Now, lunch and then I'm off to redeem Darth Vader, let the Ewoks beat the Stormtroopers and then make Death Star 2.0 go boom.