Act I Deserves Some Time Off

Me: Act I, 19831 words. That's almost exactly 20k!

Act I: Is it bad that I'm under?

Me: No. You're great.

Act I: But there are those things in the outline that I didn't get around to doing. And things my chapters inserted without permission.

Me: You worry too much. I like the additions. And the other things will either get cut or be part of Act II. There's a reason I didn't outline it before you were complete.

Act I: So you don't want me to yell at Chapter 6 for you? She totally went off on a tangent.

Me: It was going to happen anyway. It just happens sooner now. I think that'll actually work better in terms of reader engagement. And her ending was amazing, even if I'm a bit biased.

Act I: Okay. So I'll just bugger off then?

Me: Yeah. But don't go too far. I'll be calling you up again come revision time. Binge some shows or something. You deserve some you time.