May 2023 in writing
May 2023 in writing In May, I finished writing the first draft of the main POV character’s arc, and started on a 2nd POV character.
First Draft Progress I’ve written 45 of 97 outlined scenes; 23 2/3 of 48 outlined chapters. I could try to power through and finish the first draft by the end of June, but life is rearing its head: jury duty summons, a family vacation, concerts, plus the Diablo 4 launch.
First POV complete
First POV Complete Today I finished the first draft for the first POV arc.
(That means my overall first draft is ~1/3 finished. My previous analogy of Pulp Fiction is somewhat inaccurate. A better analogy might be Cryptonomicon, if I finished the modern day arc and wanted to go back to write the 2 main World War 2 arcs later.)
I’m pretty happy about it.
Safe ally I dropped the protagonist in the middle of a conflict ridden world.
Thoughts while drafting
Thoughts While Drafting By the end of the month, I will finish the first draft of one of my POV characters’ scenes, from the opening scene to the denouement. (One of three POVs, so the first draft will be 1/3 complete. Think writing Jules’ and Vincent’s briefcase arc, from Royale with Cheese to the final diner scene, and leaving the Marsellus Wallace’s Wife and The Gold Watch arc scenes for later.
April 2023 in writing
In April, I finished my outline for Book 1.
Detailed outline I weaved the rough scene list into ordered chapters and expanded the one-sentence description by specifying
location; season; the list of characters; a general summary of what happens; the ideas and questions I have for the scene; (sometimes) the scene – goal, conflict, and setback; (sometimes) the sequel – reaction, dilemma, and decision; (sometimes) the hook and cliffhanger. While writing those scene details, I identified and fixed a number of serious problems with the story.
iPhone Detox
With only a couple exceptions, my phone has been sitting on a shelf in my office for the past week, and I’m pretty happy about it.
Compared to the many hours of screen time I’d been racking up previously, I’m barely using my phone now. I’d like to see how long I can keep this up.
Background Previously, I noticed how doomscrolling news and social media coincided with my mood spiraling downward.