The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

We’re near the end, and I have to say, it has been hard work.

Today I’ve been writing, revising and reading. There are aspects to the flow that are bothering me, and I know I’m supposed to let it mull for a while before I start editing, but I’m like that, I have to do something about it now, not later.

While I’m doing that, I’ve been working on a musical theme for the writing and hit upon the big band sounds of the 1940s and ’50s.

I have always been fascinated by that era of music, particularly Benny Goodman, but not so much the Dorsey brothers.

It then led to the final chapter, as I was playing Sing, Sing, Sing, I had the vision, in the ballroom, just our main character, and Teresa, with a few selected guests.

I’m also one of those people who like happy endings to the stories, or at least until the next book in the series starts.

Two days to go and I can rest.

Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

We’re near the end, and I have to say, it has been hard work.

Today I’ve been writing, revising and reading. There are aspects to the flow that are bothering me, and I know I’m supposed to let it mull for a while before I start editing, but I’m like that, I have to do something about it now, not later.

While I’m doing that, I’ve been working on a musical theme for the writing and hit upon the big band sounds of the 1940s and ’50s.

I have always been fascinated by that era of music, particularly Benny Goodman, but not so much the Dorsey brothers.

It then led to the final chapter, as I was playing Sing, Sing, Sing, I had the vision, in the ballroom, just our main character, and Teresa, with a few selected guests.

I’m also one of those people who like happy endings to the stories, or at least until the next book in the series starts.

Two days to go and I can rest.

Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

There is a history of strong female characters. They don’t have to be the lead character in order to become a focal point in the story.

I’m reminded of the CIA agent in Cuba in the latest James Bond Film, No Time To Die, where she literally kicks ass. To my mind, that is a girl to be reckoned with, and no, I would not want to meet her in a dark alley or be her enemy.

I wanted one, and put her in the Zoe series, an assassin without a conscience, but has one of those life-defining moments that doesn’t take away anything from her character, just adds another dimension.

This story is going to have one too, Teresa, only she is a different kettle of fish, to quote an analogy.

She is just the sort of person our main character’s handler recruits in a heartbeat. The fact she is in jail when we first meet her just adds to the mystique.

And when the main character and her meet, it’s like water and oil. She had a role to play, even if it’s not the one our main character is led to believe is.

The trouble is, I’m having too much fun playing to the two off against each other, so much so, I’m beginning to like her, as much as I would, in real life (if such a person existed) fear her.

Interesting question: how would I react if my imaginary world suddenly became all too real?

I guess that’s another story.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

There is a history of strong female characters. They don’t have to be the lead character in order to become a focal point in the story.

I’m reminded of the CIA agent in Cuba in the latest James Bond Film, No Time To Die, where she literally kicks ass. To my mind, that is a girl to be reckoned with, and no, I would not want to meet her in a dark alley or be her enemy.

I wanted one, and put her in the Zoe series, an assassin without a conscience, but has one of those life-defining moments that doesn’t take away anything from her character, just adds another dimension.

This story is going to have one too, Teresa, only she is a different kettle of fish, to quote an analogy.

She is just the sort of person our main character’s handler recruits in a heartbeat. The fact she is in jail when we first meet her just adds to the mystique.

And when the main character and her meet, it’s like water and oil. She had a role to play, even if it’s not the one our main character is led to believe is.

The trouble is, I’m having too much fun playing to the two off against each other, so much so, I’m beginning to like her, as much as I would, in real life (if such a person existed) fear her.

Interesting question: how would I react if my imaginary world suddenly became all too real?

I guess that’s another story.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

I’ve come to the realization that I’m not going to get this story finished in the allotted time.

In fact, there are aspects of the story that have been bugging me, and it’s been the devil’s own job not to go back and fix some of it up. It’s probably why today’s output is terrible compared to previous days.

What I have done, as elements of the previous part of the story have had to be changed so that what happens later makes sense, I have a copious quantity of post-it notes on the desktop to remind me.

And that tells me that the whole project is getting out of hand.

As it stands, at a guestimate, this story is going to finish up over 100,000 words. If I meet the targets I’ve set myself for the rest of the month, that 30th November total should be around 85,000 words.

It’s an achievement in itself, but I’m not happy with the product as it stands. There’s going to be a huge editing blitz next month if I can face it.

As for now, it’s about 2 am and I’m very tired, I’ve just thought of another change that needs to be made, so I’m going to scribble it down and get to bed.

Thank goodness I don’t try to write all my books in a month!

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

I’ve come to the realization that I’m not going to get this story finished in the allotted time.

In fact, there are aspects of the story that have been bugging me, and it’s been the devil’s own job not to go back and fix some of it up. It’s probably why today’s output is terrible compared to previous days.

What I have done, as elements of the previous part of the story have had to be changed so that what happens later makes sense, I have a copious quantity of post-it notes on the desktop to remind me.

And that tells me that the whole project is getting out of hand.

As it stands, at a guestimate, this story is going to finish up over 100,000 words. If I meet the targets I’ve set myself for the rest of the month, that 30th November total should be around 85,000 words.

It’s an achievement in itself, but I’m not happy with the product as it stands. There’s going to be a huge editing blitz next month if I can face it.

As for now, it’s about 2 am and I’m very tired, I’ve just thought of another change that needs to be made, so I’m going to scribble it down and get to bed.

Thank goodness I don’t try to write all my books in a month!

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

It’s hard to know just how someone would react in real life to a situation that is not normally expected to happen.

Like, for instance, a gunman walks into a supermarket and suddenly starts shooting randomly.

But, in the USA, that seems to be a situation that could happen anywhere, anytime and with tragic results.

What would I do in such a situation?

It’s probably impossible to tell unless it really happened.

Why do I ask this question?

There’s a lot of effort required to plan out what each character is going to do in any given situation. What he or she might do has a lot to do with how they have been previously portrayed.

If they were nervous or frightened at the little things, it’s hardly likely that they would run into a hail of bullets unless there was a very good reason like saving a child, and even then it might be a stretch to believe they would.

So, I’m writing about a dangerous situation, and it’s taking a lot longer than I expected because my characters have to fit their previous profiles, and I have to remember them, or, what I should have done in the first place, create profiles from which to draw on when necessary.

Another lesson learned the hard way, is that planning is necessary, even if it appears tedious.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

It’s hard to know just how someone would react in real life to a situation that is not normally expected to happen.

Like, for instance, a gunman walks into a supermarket and suddenly starts shooting randomly.

But, in the USA, that seems to be a situation that could happen anywhere, anytime and with tragic results.

What would I do in such a situation?

It’s probably impossible to tell unless it really happened.

Why do I ask this question?

There’s a lot of effort required to plan out what each character is going to do in any given situation. What he or she might do has a lot to do with how they have been previously portrayed.

If they were nervous or frightened at the little things, it’s hardly likely that they would run into a hail of bullets unless there was a very good reason like saving a child, and even then it might be a stretch to believe they would.

So, I’m writing about a dangerous situation, and it’s taking a lot longer than I expected because my characters have to fit their previous profiles, and I have to remember them, or, what I should have done in the first place, create profiles from which to draw on when necessary.

Another lesson learned the hard way, is that planning is necessary, even if it appears tedious.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

It’s a bad day.

Nothing I start seems to work out, a bit like painting yourself into a corner.

Words are beginning to annoy me, so much so, every file I’ve started today, so far, I’ve deleted.

It’s not a matter of getting words on paper, no matter how bad they are. If I added up all the words I’ve written so far, and discarded, it would have to be close to 10,000.

Time to step away from the laptop. My head is hurting, and I’m tired, more so than usual. I think the combination of late nights and not being able to work out where this story is going, is giving me a great deal of grief.

Is this where real writers head for the drinks cabinet and make a severe dent in the single malt?

Maybe I need to go out to a restaurant and have a fancy meal.

Or go to the pizza shop and get a meat lover’s special, and a cheap bottle of merlot.

It’s the second-worst number of words for a day in the past month.

Maybe after a rest, it’ll be different.

The time has come to work on the second draft for the editor, taking into account all of the suggested changes, and there are quite a few. So much for thinking I could put in an almost flawless manuscript.

…

It’s a bad day.

Nothing I start seems to work out, a bit like painting yourself into a corner.

Words are beginning to annoy me, so much so, every file I’ve started today, so far, I’ve deleted.

It’s not a matter of getting words on paper, no matter how bad they are. If I added up all the words I’ve written so far, and discarded, it would have to be close to 10,000.

Time to step away from the laptop. My head is hurting, and I’m tired, more so than usual. I think the combination of late nights and not being able to work out where this story is going, is giving me a great deal of grief.

Is this where real writers head for the drinks cabinet and make a severe dent in the single malt?

Maybe I need to go out to a restaurant and have a fancy meal.

Or go to the pizza shop and get a meat lover’s special, and a cheap bottle of merlot.

It’s the second-worst number of words for a day in the past month.

Maybe after a rest, it’ll be different.