Well, I didn’t get caught up.
I did make it to only being 9k behind, but then midnight happened.
I’ve learned a few things though.
1) Pain is not conducive to writing. Fortunately, a great chiropractor and three days off work have done wonders for that. Now if I just don’t fall apart during the next four days at work, I’ll be all set.
I hope.
2) Smaller chunks of writing help me a lot. Instead of focusing on writing a couple thousand words I need to just write in sets of two or three hundred – more if I’m on a roll – and then add it to the main doc and take a break for a couple of minutes to sort through the next bit of dialogue or whatever.
3) I am apparently immune to 5 Hour Energy Drinks. I wanted to pull an all nighter Wednesday into Thursday, but after a lengthy battle to get the outer seal off of the bottle, and steeling myself to drink the stuff, I got a brief rush and an hour later was ready to crash.
4) I really like detailed outlines and wish I had one and I swear that whatever I write for next camp session will have one.
Actually, I did have one. Well, I had an outline, at least – not very detailed, but an outline nonetheless.
But that was for book three of the name-challenged trilogy, and I finished it on Wednesday. (Yay! Now it gets to sit for a while before I start editing.)
And that brings me to a summary of progress made.
The nameless trilogy is done, although I am still going to write the alternate version of book one.
When I finished the trilogy, I gave myself a break from novels by writing a short side story for The Academy of the Accord series. It’s really rough and needs work, but it was a fun little diversion.
Then I skim read what I had written for Book Two of The Other Mages trilogy and couldn’t believe how much I’d forgotten. I’m currently working on it and it’s flowing pretty well, considering that there is no outline to speak of.
This is what is currently passing for my outline for the rest of this book. I’m not even sure what I was thinking when I wrote some of it. (The part in italics is actually an excerpt from the current version of Book Three and I have no idea why I put it in this outline.)
OUTLINE
- Journey to Besembe
— Go to see Marnetta’s tower. [WHY?] It turns out to be the one that Katheri knew as Kelennor’s. [WHAT HAPPENED TO MARNETTA?]
[ALSO, NEED TIME LINE AND AGES.]
— Undines?
III. Besembe
Aithen and Zari not there.
Luthen is.
Sidden is.
Kaeriya is.
Enisha is. Recognizes Katheri.
Time there spent:
Learning more about her Gift
Learning about their path
“They’ve all pulled out of Besembe, then,” Katheri said softly. “There was some talk of it when I was there, but no decision had been reached.” She frowned. “They must have done it pretty quickly.”
“I cannot imagine Besembe not being there,” Trebor murmured.
“I know,” Zaren said. “I was only there this once, and then just briefly and there weren’t any others there, but still, it… It’s home.”
Katheri nodded. “I got the sense that there were fewer people there than normal when I was there. And the ones that were there — they were still discussing the best course of action.”
Final test
Initiation
Role of a Priestess (Priestess training)
[STILL NEED INITIATION AND ROLE OF PRIEST IN BOOK ONE]
Still having trouble accepting her own Power
— advised that she will grow into it and come to terms with it.
Meeting X can be the catalyst that triggers it?
— or should that wait until Book Three when she has to defend Zaren?
Some of that is no longer even applicable, or will need to be moved and rearranged, and something I totally didn’t plan on happening is going to happen in Besembe which will probably mess with book three.
But book three is already such a mess that I doubt I’ll even notice.
So, there you have it. One trilogy (that has no name but which was at least written in order) completed. One very rough draft of a short story. And book two of another trilogy flowing well and should be finished by the end of the month.
Oh, and I’ve managed to keep up with a poem a day for NaPoWriMo.
Now, if I can just get caught up on word count for Camp.
Novel Notes 