Novel Update

Not much to tell. I'm quite a few scenes into the novel now and every scene has fallen into place pretty much as planned. I seem to be developing an interesting process. I'll write a scene over the course of two, or at most three days. Then I'll spend a day or two resting and thinking about the next scene. I have to push myself to go ahead and start writing again, being always certain I'm not ready. But I usually am ready. The scene turns out fine, or even better than I expected. I haven't really taken any wrong turns.

My Hero and I are getting along swimmingly. I like him a lot. He's even more endearing to me than I expected him to be.

I've had only one real surprise: My villain made an unexpected appearance early in the story. I'm glad he did; it helped the plot along and makes the story more interesting. I've been reading about plot development, and one key rule is to let the villain drive much of the "second act", to borrow a term from screenplays and drama. I can see why. The villain's activities provide a huge opportunity for dropping herrings and threads of mystery.

Anyway, it's bed time, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's work, and what could be a better sign than that?