Act III is humbling me.
Not in the “I can’t write” kind of way.
Not in the “I have no ideas” kind of way.
But in the deeply frustrating, emotionally exhausting kind of way where:
- the words are technically flowing
- the story is moving forward
- and yet something still feels… off.
This week has been all about trying to get unstuck while working through Act III of Project Ember, and honestly? It’s been harder than I expected.
🌧 Falling Behind on My Writing Goals
Going into this week, I had plans.
Big plans.
I wanted to power through Act III and make huge progress toward finishing Draft 2. But life had other ideas.
Between:
- getting sick
- dealing with my cycle
- allergies turning into what I thought were allergies (spoiler: it was pink eye)
- and just feeling physically drained…
I fell behind on my word count goals.
And as frustrating as that was, I’m trying to remind myself that creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
We’re still human beings.
Sometimes your body forces you to slow down, whether you want to or not.
📖 The Goal Right Now: Just Finish Draft Two
One thing I’ve had to keep repeating to myself lately is:
✨ The goal is not perfection right now.
✨ The goal is to finish Draft 2.
Because every time I hit a scene that feels slightly off, my brain immediately wants to stop everything and fix it.
But that’s what Draft 3 is for.
Draft 3 will be:
- deeper edits
- stronger emotional arcs
- fixing plot holes
- restructuring scenes
- strengthening themes
- cutting unnecessary moments
- expanding important ones
Right now?
I just need to get to the end.
It’s harder than it sounds.
💔 Why Act III Feels So Much Harder
Acts I and II flowed surprisingly smoothly for me.
Act III?
Act III is emotional warfare. 😩
The deeper I get into this section of the book, the more I realize this isn’t really a plot problem anymore.
It’s a character problem.
Or maybe more accurately:
✨ a character depth problem. ✨
I’m at a point where I need to dig deeper emotionally than I originally expected.
Not just:
- what my characters want ➡️ but why they want it
- what wounds are driving them
- what fears they’re hiding
- and how those things shape every decision they make
That level of emotional excavation is exhausting.
🌸 Writing Romance Is Harder When the Characters Are Apart
One thing I realized this week is that my male and female leads are currently separated in the story… and wow, I hate it.
Not because it’s bad storytelling.
But because they work so well together.
When they’re together:
- the dialogue flows
- the emotional tension crackles
- scenes feel alive
- their personalities bounce off each other naturally
When they’re apart?
Everything feels heavier.
More fractured.
And I think that discomfort is intentional.
Because part of romance storytelling is proving:
✨ they are better together than apart. ✨
But wow, does that make these chapters emotionally difficult to write.
🧠 It’s Not Writer’s Block… It’s Something Else
I kept calling this “writer’s block” in my head, but the truth is:
The words are coming.
The scenes exist.
The dialogue is flowing.
The story is moving forward.
So it’s not traditional writer’s block.
It’s more like:
- creative resistance
- emotional overwhelm
- uncertainty
- trying to pry deeper truths out of the characters
And I think sometimes writers don’t talk enough about that distinction.
Sometimes you’re not blocked because you lack ideas.
Sometimes you’re blocked because the story is asking more from you emotionally than you expected.
🌲 Taking a Break to Reset My Brain
At a certain point, I realized I needed to stop forcing it.
So I grabbed Scout and took her on an off-leash hike through the woods.
It honestly helped so much.
There’s something about getting outside, moving your body, and stepping away from the screen that helps your brain breathe again.
Scout absolutely loved it, too.
We skipped the regular dog park area and headed straight for the trails—her favorite part. Watching her run through the woods felt like a reminder that sometimes creativity needs space to roam a little, too.
📝 Realistic Writer Life = Adjusting the Plan
When I got home, I sat down with my Daily Grind Planner and started mapping out the rest of my day.
And almost immediately, I realized:
✨ I wasn’t going to get as much writing done as I wanted.
Because life still needed to happen.
We had friends coming over.
The house needed cleaning.
There were responsibilities outside of writing.
That’s real life.
I think sometimes we romanticize the creative process so much that we forget artists still have dishes to wash, errands to run, and homes to take care of.
Balance matters too.
✍️ Small Progress Still Counts
By the end of the day, I finished Chapter 28 and started Chapter 29.
Did I hit the massive word count I originally wanted?
No.
But I still wrote around 1,000 words.
And I’m trying to celebrate that instead of criticizing myself for not doing more.
Because progress is still progress.
Especially during the emotionally heavy parts of a story.
💭 Discovering New Depth in My Characters
One of the most surprising things about writing Act III has been realizing:
✨ my characters are deeper than I originally thought. ✨
There are emotional layers surfacing now that I didn’t fully understand in earlier drafts.
And while that’s making the writing process harder…
It’s also making the story better.
Because these aren’t just characters moving through plot points anymore.
They’re becoming real people.
Flawed people.
Hurting people.
Complicated people.
And I think that’s where stories truly start to come alive.
🌸 For Anyone Feeling Creatively Stuck Right Now…
If you’re in the middle of a creative project and feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or emotionally drained by it, here’s your reminder:
✨ Struggling does not mean you’re failing.
✨ Slow progress is still progress.
✨ Creative blocks don’t mean you’re not talented.
✨ Sometimes the hard parts of a project are what make it meaningful.
And maybe most importantly:
You are allowed to step away, reset, go outside, breathe, and come back to your art later.
Sometimes clarity comes after the pause.
Not during the panic.
Thank you for following along with my journey through Project Ember. Even in the messy, emotionally chaotic middle of Act III, I’m still incredibly grateful to be building this story—and this dream—one chapter at a time. 💖
