Comparison, Part II

I did a few things this year differently from last year, all of which is making the writing more difficult.

• Last year, I didn't start with pre-crafted characters, so they could do whatever they wanted. This year, because I'm reusing some characters, I find myself reining them back in if they behave "out of character" but this is inhibiting the natural flow of the scenes.
  
  
• Last year, I introduced the female character in her current day setting, gave some background, set up the plot hook, then immediately introduced the male character in a separate scene. This year, because I already "knew" the character, I didn't spend any time introducing her or giving background, so it's... weird.
  
  
• Last year, I had a non-outline outline which said things like "1/6th into the book/my total wordcount, the two protagonists should have their second meeting." This year, I didn't even have an outline, just a list of scenes I thought would be interesting to write. Turns out that the prepped list of supposedly interesting scenes are really boring and only the random scenes I write are any fun.
  
  
• Last year, I tried to stick to the classic romance structure and had a great time. This year, I have been trying to deviate from the classic structure and am having a horrible time. I think I'm going to revert back. I don't know enough about writing yet to forge new paths.
  
  
• Last year, I wrote at a fairly slow, contemplative pace for the first few days (taking up more hours to fulfill my quota), taking more time to "craft" the scenes and dialog, until I could get inside the characters' heads and feel more comfortable with the setting. As time went on, I was able to write faster and faster because I "got" the world and could "see" it. This year, I just dove right in and started to write at my finish line pace of last year. It's been disasterous. I am going to have to slow down and simply take more time to write for the next few days so that I can find the story.
  

Lessons learned. At least this is only the third day.