Trilogy Progress - Book One

To begin, I have decided to withhold the title of the books and series for added suspense ;)

The outline of this decade long project has been "complete" for nearly six months. As happens in the course of such a large project, the outline is dynamic and prone to tweeks here and there. There was one small gap, but a month ago a moment of inspiration hit and all of the blank spots are filled in. Once that final piece was written in, it felt almost as if the novel was now done. The relief I felt was indescribable.

My goal is somewhere between 80,000 to 90,000 words as I am certain it is likely to shrink during the editing process. I am making great strides and so far have nearly 20,000 words written. Now, it may seem surprising to those that I tell that the novel is nearly written when the word count has not even reached the 50% mark.

So why do I make this claim? The reason is simple, to my mind anyway. The first several chapters are used to build up to the part of the novel my mind is most familiar with. I believe that once I get to the 30,000-40,000 word count, the rest of the words will flow rapidly. I have those places, dates, characters, and settings so memorized in my head that sometimes I wished I could just plug a USB drive into my temple! It is setting the story with interesting historical fact, character development and plot driving material that has so consumed my time. I have also begun making research contacts and identifying locations for book two. That put some of my creativity time for book one on hold, but I think it is important to make these contacts. Having my facts straight for book two will aid in moving that book along at a much faster pace than book one.

I have also send the first chapter of book one to some trusted FaithWriter companions for critique and am anxious to hear their feedback.

It is my hope to have the completed draft for book one ready for edit by Christmas, 2009.