Just a quick note here. I'm waiting for Russ to get home, and then I'm gong to go out to a local nature preserve for an hour or so and wander the paths. It's nearly 70, but breezy. It'll probably be a bit too cold to spend a lot of time out there since it's nestled in some hills and covered in trees, but I intend to enjoy it anyway.

Holly had some neat things to say about writing today. Sounds like a neat technique to pull things together.

I'm doing something different. I have a 19 year old manuscript with a cast of thousands, rambling pov, and I won't even get into the actual bad writing... however, there are some good characters and the plot is not too bad. This is the dreaded Book 3 of 8. (Sounds a bit borgish, doesn't it?)

I've been trying to get going on it for a month and I just couldn't seem to get past the first few pages. Well, I finally found the answer with the note cards. One note card per character, but more importantly, one note card per page of the original manuscript. It is printed in faded dot matrix, about a 10 point font and single spaced. The original is 85 pages. Yes, that's very short, even in this tiny print.

But I've already found several points where I can insert new chapters. In fact, where I should insert material. The novel is Crystal and the Stars. We meet Crystal very early in the book, but then it's mostly a 'look for Crystal' story for about a third of it after that. I realize that I need to show what Crystal is doing during this time since he turns up quite unexpectedly.

Ah, the joys of a real plot. I've now written 13 pages of new material. That barely covers the first 4 pages of the first version. But now all I need do is look at the note cards to remember what happened next, and go to work. If there happened to be some really good dialogue on one of the original pages, I'll try to remember to grab it. So far, nothing much has leapt out at me in that respect.

I've cut characters, and I've changed some of the extraordinary powers of the others. The note cards, all lined up in a nice little notebook especially made for them, is incredibly helpful. I can flip through them, insert material, write more notes on the cards, and go on.

And, one of the most important aspects of writing -- I'm enjoying this. I think it's going to pull together quickly now.

I think I'll go do some more note cards while I wait...

This is working. I'm going through the old version and jotting down one note card for each page. Just a brief line or two about what's happening. I can already see that there are horrific POV problems. And I am about to hit the 'cast of thousands' problem. But at least I feel like I'm moving on this!

So where does all the time go?

I'm not sure. Here we are in May. I still have the calendar set to April, as though I can make the month last a few more days that way. I can't seem to get my mind focused around the idea of May. It I should be working on Book 3. I should be editing more of the other novel. I should be doing something rather than bouncing around web sites and looking for excuses not to do writing.

And it's not even that I don't want to write. I just can't quite seem to force myself to sit down and look at the material and get to work.

Okay. That will never do. I'm going to start doing some outline cards. Go through the old version and look at what I want to keep, what I want to change, which characters will change gender and which ones will disappear....

Yes, that's a good way to start. Wish me luck, people. I need to get to work on this!

Just a run by post. I have done next to nothing today except update my page at lazette.net. My brain needed a few hours rest. Now I'm going to watch a show with Russ, and then I'm going to sit down and write. I know I'll get at least that much done!

I also need to get the material ready for the next classes, and get some editing done and...

I'm tired already, just thinking about it. But off I go to watch TV with Russ instead. (grin)

Vision went up. I finished Mars Run. I am so tired now that I don't think I'm going to be able to crawl all the way to the bedroom. But I thin, at a quarter to five in the morning, that I ought to give it a try.

Tomorrow it's back to the novels...