PROGRESS UPDATE (6/18/06)

CURRENT GOAL: Complete Chapters 4 & 5
STATUS: Mission Accomplished!

Current Word Count: 14,370.

COMMENTS:

Blogger was having technical difficulties last week which made it impossible to post the usual tables. However, it appears this feature is working again now, so hopefully the tables for this week will appear following these comments.

I edited all previous material on the current novel (HARRY VS. THE TRUCK) and met the goal of adding two additional chapters. I am updating my Master Scene List as I go, and am also keeping notes for additional ideas I am having already for the editing phase for this novel, scenes to add that I didn't think of until after I had passed where they would go. So, I'm organized, keeping organizational overhead to a minimum, keeping the focus on following the basic outline yet also discovering the story as I go, and seeing lots and lots of possibilities for this novel to turn out to be something very meaningful.

However, it remains difficult to write, in that it deals with some heavy issues, and I'm not happy about that. A lot of my story ideas over the past decade plus have dealt with heavy issues, and in part the weight of these issues has bogged down the writing. I am making progress with this novel, and with my new process, which I tried out for the first time with my last novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, I am confident I can actually finish this novel. However, getting there is trying and I don't enjoy the heavy issues. I still have to keep my sights on the larger picture, and the ending, and know that going through this is worthwhile because it will end in a good way, but it doesn't really alleviate the discomfort of dealing with the heavy issues along the way. It just helps me remember there is a point to doing it. There have been some times in writing when I gain a fairly positive outlook on the work and feel good while writing, and the tone of the prose has been developing nicely toward a more lighthearted approach, which I intended from the outset. So, there are signs that I am making progress and maybe eventually I will have it down well enough that I can write without too much discomfort.

Regarding THE REFLECTING STONE, I finished the Master Scene List for that novel and now have only one task left before I can declare Phase One of the editing of it complete: I have to revisit the Mythology and figure out how to simplify it somewhat. I want to consolidate the various Ages of that world (it's a fantasy novel). Somehow I want it to be easier to follow, even though it's not all that complicated, but still it should be very simple for purposes of the story.

I have also been at work on a couple of postings for my new TIPS & TRICKS blog, which is still getting off the ground. I hope to post them sometime this coming week.

In conclusion, and returning to HARRY VS. THE TRUCK, my new goals will be to write two more chapters. It is definitely harder these days to keep the progress going because it's summer and there are other things to do these days. The tables below summarize how far the work has come already.

Adrian