Saturday 10th April 2021

After yesterday’s bad day of no writing, I got back on track today with a number of writing sessions.  Still not as much as I can do in a day but I’m still exploring the cracks and corners of this story.

I’m enjoying being able to spend the time doing this.  It seems like a long time since I did a first draft but in reality, it was just a few months ago.  But because this is just focused on opening chapters, it allows me to stop and question the outline.

My tense is all over the place.  I initially started wanting to writing this all in 3rd person past.  But in sitting down and thinking wider scope, I thought that present tense might be better.  But then I thought that having flashbacks in past tense and the main story in present might help ensure the flashbacks don’t get confusing.

The book starts with one of these.  Except it’s not really a flashback.  We are introduced to the story through the eyes of one character, and their flashback is more a prologue to the main story.  Except I already have a prologue… which might get cut.

But this prologue / flashback was originally intended to be a small 2000ish word piece.  Except there’s a scene that’s needed between this prologue / flashback and the main story as laid out in the outline.  So I’ve been writing it and I like it.  Except I wrote it in past tense, and I think it needs to be present, because I’m not sure if it’s part of the prologue or the main story.

It’s all a glorious mess, and I love it.

I’d like to think my outlines are pretty good.  At least, pretty good for this stage in my career.  But they are always a guide rather than a rule.  I can stray a bit off the path here and there, but I can’t go off on a tangent.  They keep me on course, but give me some freedom to follow the story.

Because I have the outline, I’m not losing sight of what it is I’m trying to write.  I’m having fun and in doing so I think I’m really finding the story.

I want to get all these sample chapters done this week though.  I think I’ve pretty much broken the back of it, but there’s a few more chapters to write and then a bunch to fix – such as deciding what tense for what scene.  It feels doable, although I’m also aware there are two other outlines in development that I haven’t done anything with in the last week or so.

I’ll get back to them once this outline and sample chapters are done and off.  Things are progressing and I’m enjoying that.  Still would like to pick up the pace though!

Past Issues:  777 | 776 | 775 | 774 | 773 | 772 | 771 | 770 | 769 | 768 | 767 | 766 | 765 | 764 | 763 | 762 | 761
760 | 759 | 758 | 757 | 756 | 755 | 754 | 753 | 752 | 751 | 750 | 749 | 748 | 747 | 746 | 745 | 744 | 743 | 742 | 741
740 | 739 | 738 | 737 | 736 | 735 | 734 | 733 | 732 | 731 | 730 | 729 | 728 | 727 | 726 | 725 | 724 723 | 722 | 721
720 | 719 | 718 | 717 | 716 | 715 714 | 713 | 712 | 711 | 710 | 709 | 708 | 707 | 706 | 705 | 704 | 703 | 702 | 701
700 | 699 | 698 | 697 | 696 | 695 | 694 | 693 | 692 | 691 | 690 | 689 | 688 | 687 | 686 | 685 | 684 | 683 | 682 | 681
680 | 679 | 678
Past Years: 2020 – The Year of Being Fearsome | 2019 – The Year of Soldiering Through | 2018 – The Year of Priorities | 2017 – The Year Of The Offensive