Wow, this one is turning into an epic. It’s huge, and really should be two chapters. Yes, that means chapter 8 will be done faster, but then there will still be chapter 9 to do before act I is done. (sigh) Well, there is much work to do, and it is rewarding, even if it is also time consuming.

Well, I got about 17 pages done this week, which isn’t very much, really, but it’s some progress. I am one half to one third done with it.  I will really need to apply myself to finish it this week, but it is doable. Just depends on how many other things get in the way.

Okay, life is once again under control. It’s not perfect, but it’s livable. All of the appliances are now in working order, and we are settled enough to feel like we actually have a home now. There is still chaos in the garage, but I am slowly getting a handle on that as well, and I am making steady progress. I managed to nearly sever a finger this weekend in that pursuit, but that’s the price of progress, eh?

All of this means there is no longer any excuse for not writing (Save for my sore finger! Hopefully, it will be less painful in a few days, because it’s quite an impediment to typing at the moment!) Chapter 8 is the climax of Act I, and took quite a bit of rethinking to make work with the new plotlines. I managed to get the synopsis of this act hammered out while we were on vacation, so actually writing the draft chapter will be considerably less difficult. My goal is to finish chapter 8 this week.

Well, chapter 7 is banked. Got the revision done for the new lines, and added an extra scene that was pretty charged. I am pleased with the results. Now I just need to rework chapter 8 and Act I is done.

Finishing chapter 7 was fairly draining. I wrote a brutal murder scene which left me feeling simultaneously pleased with the drama, and yet sad for the character who died. Part of getting it right is to feel the scene enough to get across just how horrible it is. I think I can wring a bit more out of it, emotionally, when I do a final pass on the whole manuscript, but for now, it’s just fine.

I did have a look at chapter 8, but it is very complex, and it needs a lot of changes and, in places, wholesale rewriting to fit properly now. It’s not as much work as starting from scratch, but it’s still quite a task. After finishing chapter 7, I just didn’t feel much like doing the heavy lifting, so I will save it for tomorrow.

The good thing is that this is a holiday weekend, so I have extra time. I think it’s a good goal to try to finish before Tuesday. It’s doable, if I just buckle down and get it done. On the other hand, I hate to spend all of my holiday slaving away. (shrug) We’ll see how I feel.

Well, I finished it up late last night, and I am fairly pleased with it. Now it’s time to move on to the cleanup of chapter 7 and 8, which I think I can indeed finish this week, which means a wrap on Act I. Well, until I do a final edit anyway.

I expect chapter 7 to be very light on reworking, as I mentioned, but it occurred to me last night that I could add another scene that will really add some dimension to several characters and help me bridge the gap between new and old line behavior.

And, yes, I realize that this is all very vague, but this is really to motivate me to finish, rather than to communicate anything, and besides, it won’t make sense unless you actually read what I am working on. There is no point in that occurring until I finish Act I, at which point I will be glad to let folks see if they ask.
Right now, I think that will happen this week. Chapter 7 looks easy, but chapter 8 is going to  be tricky, and may require a fair amount of stuff be discarded and rewritten. We’ll see.

Chapter six, not the cylon model. It’s coming along, but it’s taking some time. I think tonight it will be done, though I may not get the chance. I have a lot to do with the new house, and I may have to sign paperwork tonight. This is not a bad thing by any means, so I will simply adjust rather than complain bitterly as I am wont to do.

In the pursuit of being honest with myself, I need to note I have failed at reaching my goal of completing the new chapter I wanted to insert. Admittedly, I have quite a bit going on, so I won’t beat myself up about it, but it’s only about 2/3’s done. I expect to finish it tonight, and get chapter 7 revised with the new storyline in a day or so. Chapter 8 needs a fair amount of rework, at least a day or two. However, chapter 8 marks the end of Act I, which is my goal for the week, so I might be able to catch up. It’s doubtful, though, considering I will probably be moving into the new house this weekend. I’ll try to reassess my goals once I know where I’ll be living for the next week.

At any rate, once I get done with revising chapter 8, I will essentially have 1/3 of the novel in draft form, with about ten more chapters that need to be written, and another ten already written but needing to get reworked with the new plot lines. With due diligence, this could all be in 1st draft format by the end of summer, provided I stay focused.

I find that having a dedicated fan does wonders for one’s motivation.

Well, I have decided to indeed add in a chapter to bridge the gap between the old story lines and the new. I have roughed out the remainder, and am changing my plan for the week. I’ll finish chapter 6, and then next week rework the old versions of chapter 7 and 8.

The current outline is about thirty pages long, and I have something like 42 chapters specced out, about twenty of which are written. I would say that there are five key momentous events, and three of these are already written. In addition, save for some few remaining details, the remaining chapters, while unwritten, are scripted out. All in all, I am much more than halfway done. I am more like 2/3’sof the way there.

My biggest concern at this point is that this thing is huge, something like 250k words. This is very likely to make the novel difficult to sell as an unknown. I’m not sure if I can do much about the size, though. I don’t put in much frivolous stuff. Still, it may be that I am going to have to cut a lot of stuff to get this down to size. It’s something I need to think about as I take my final pass at reweaving the new plot lines into the old ending.

Got about 7 pages done last night. It took some time, but turned out to be very decent. I have about 10 more to go to connect up with what I have already written, assuming I don’t decide to add an extra chapter here. I am currently debating whether or not I want to do that, but right now, I am leaning toward it. It will allow me to deepen some characters and sharpen some points of conflict between others. I am well on schedule, even losing Monday night due to being sick.

Tonight, I think I will only write for a bit. I didn’t quite finish the scene last night, so there are 3 or four more pages left. Then I think I’ll play some WoW and whack some fools. But first, the writing….