Day 11 on the outline.

I was just going to work on the first half of the second act today, but then I realised I wasn't sure which half of the act some of my scenes needed to be in - so I worked on the act as a whole. Slower progress than I'd have liked. A general shape is emerging, but it all feels VERY slow! Looking at my cards on the floor it doesn't look like I've made that much progress - but my brain hurts, so that's got to be good, right? Not sure if my dissatisfaction means I'm overthinking, or what... And every so often I realise there's a whole angle I haven't considered yet, like my protagonist's relationship with the antagonist... and so on and so on. I realise that I'm going to have to start my draft with a lot of questions still unanswered, or I'll be counting down to 'Day 100 on the outline'... still, knowing where to draw the line is tricky.

Migraine.

Had a crack at writing this morning despite having got a migraine first thing. Didn't fly. Brain too fried. (Migraines do actually screw with your brain after you've had one. For me it's usually the rest of the day that I'm operating on half a brain, more or less).

Day 10 on the outline.

Have first act outlined now, enough to draft. Really need to move on to second act tomorrow. If I want to start my draft on Monday, that's first half of second act tomorrow, second half of second act on Saturday, third act on Sunday.

That's a lot. Not sure if I can get there by Monday, to be honest. But - momentum has been working for me, so that's what I'm aiming for. (Obviously, I have some sense of what's going on in the rest of the movie, but it's very far from locked down.)

Day 9 on the outline.

Planning to start the first draft on Monday. That gives me three more days (with Sunday off...) Doesn't quite feel enough time but it's all about keeping the momentum going.

Had some good and useful progress today, still a lot to do though, especially in the second half.

And, in other news... Barack Obama won the US election!

Yeah baby!

post 101.

Yes, this is my hundred and first post!

Today's writing went wellish despite a late start. Starting to piece major scenes together in order and getting more of an overview of what's going on at each stage.

I think I am going to have to start a tally of how many days I work on this idea before starting my first draft, so the outlining doesn't run out of control.

So, for the record, today is day 8 on the outlining of the thriller. It's going okay.

Reflections on the blog: Keeping a blog has been working really well for my writing - like an external conscience. It's nice logging on and having a little chat about what I've done each day. And if I don't write, I feel I'm letting my readers down. It's also giving me a really clear record of my writing process. It'll be useful in the future to look back and have an accurate overview of how I tend to work. And it's really nice hearing from other writers on the site too - makes me feel I'm not the only one slaving over a hot laptop!

The Chocolate Fish Awards haven't been taken up by as many people as I thought they would, though - I know I'm a sucker for external rewards/acknowledgement so I thought I'd have a few more takers. Not sure if people are shy to post their writing progress or just not writing. Or not interested in chocolate fish! Has been fun handing out Fishies though (congrats Sean and blofeld!)

Didn't write today.

Real life intervened, dammit.

And outlining.

At this stage I'm having a fairly constant flow of ideas that I'm juggling to put in place. Some of them are incompatible so have a few moments of doubt as to which way to go. Still not sure exactly when will be the right point to start the draft. The ideal point is somewhere where everything's not exactly locked down - so I have wiggle room - but without gaping holes/voids that are big enough to fall into mid-draft. It's a fine line and I'm not sure exactly how to be sure when I'm at that point. Any suggestions welcome.