Progress Report

Mid-weeks are slow for me. My day job is both time consuming and taxing. Still, I have managed to make it to the last chapter of The Mother of All Viruses. It's been a good revision pass. I've found a few continuity errors to correct and have modified one of the main characters titles. I think the next pass will just catch any lingering problem words that I may have overused.

Last weekend I mapped out the second chapter of The Diva of Mud Flats. I'm not entirely settled on it yet, but it's provided a good springboard to split the story into three threads. It also introduced two separate villains to the plot, and a second hero. The third chapter will most likely add a fourth and fifth thread.

I wrote my first novel with a small outline I kept on my PDA. My second novel was pretty much free flowing words onto the page. I have thoroughly outlined another, Finding Religion, but have only drafted a single scene so far. I have a less thorough outline for Something About Nobility. I have another started with 2500 words and no outline.

If there is a formula that defines the technical aspects of how a story is written, I haven't found it. To be honest, I don't believe there is one true formula. I take each book as it's own inspiration. Like the sculptor that endeavors to free the art from the stone, I don't over analyze how I intend to get a story from my head to the paper, it will find it's own path, like water flowing down a hill.

Update: I finished the last two chapters. Will probably take a short breather before starting the final revision.