Trying To Find My Way At The End Of The Year

I've been thinking about the novel and the reasons why I haven't been able to work on it.  I think I've figured out what the problem is,

There's a point in the story when Brynna's husband, Georges, is kidnapped by the Hunters.  Up to that point, the novel is just fine.  After that, it began to seem like Brynna became a "guest star" in her own novel.  It seems like I was becoming sidetracked by Kath and Marina, Eckes and his team, as well as various other characters.  I wasn't telling Brynna's story, I was telling the story of the people around her.

So it's time to take a few steps back and get the story back on track.

Of course, that means going through five full chapters.  But it will help me get the novel going again, get it back to the life of my main character and hopefully, in the long run, will help me finish the novel.

'Cause that's my only resolution:  To finish the novel in 2012.

At least, before the world end on 21 December, 2012, that is.

(No, I don't believe the world is going to end on 12/21/12.  Nothing is going to happen on that day.  Collectively, we're all going to wake up and say, "What day is it?  It's Friday?  Is it payday?")

(The day I'm really waiting for is 22 December, 2012.  That's the day all the excuses start and all the true believers start trying to explain why nothing happened on the twenty-first.)

19 December 2011: "A Voice in the Darkness" Final Progress

I've finished "A Voice in the Darkness".  The end's going to need some work, but that'll be for editing, a couple of weeks from now.  For now, though, I'm basking in the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a story.

The first draft turned out to be a little longer than I had at first thought, just shy of thirteen thousand words as 12,935.  That'll most likely go down when I start editing; I did get a little wordy in a few places.

To commemorate completing the story, I took a picture of the last hand written page of the story:

And yes, that's true...the stories of Mandalay Jones and Mira Frayne are not finished...

Now...what do I want to work on next...

08 December 2011: "A Voice in the Darkness" Progress

After a long and annoying dry spell, I've made a lot of headway into "A Voice in the Darkness".  Being able to write while at work has been a big plus.  (Hey, if other people can read or do crossword puzzles between calls, I can write.  It's better than sitting there staring into space, waiting for a call to come in.)

As of right now, "A Voice in the Darkness" is 9,890 words in length.  And I'm feeling real good about those words.

It shouldn't be long before I complete this story.  I have a pretty clear idea what happens between now and the end, so I should be able to get it done relatively quickly.

After that, I'm going to concentrate on the novel and getting some of the other, shorter projects completed.  There are a lot that have been left hanging that I'd like to finish so they can be rejected by traditional publications.