#amoutlining

Comleteing what I am calling my 'long outline' has been a very, very in depth process. I've begun this mid-August and it us now October, and I am around the halfway point on this novel. And I feel like there are a few reasons for this.

1. Mental Health, predominantly, is something I have been very cognizant of throughout the drafting of this work and will continue to be. It's not a happy go lucky text. It's dark and gritty and looks at some ugly parts to humanity, and I enjoy that. But it is also emotionally taxing, and this is before I've even begun writing it.

2. My own process is, I think, a bit different for this book. And that, I think, comes from the fact that it's a type of work I've never before attempted (nonlinear psychological thriller, emphasis on nonlinear). I'm having to take what I've pieced together on my 'short outline,' which are basically single sentences and years, to flesh out scenes in a chapter all while connecting the narrative to back into itself to seem cohesive. It's a lot of work. It's tiring, but it's ridiculously fun.

3. Time. I am not forcing myself to write when I feel like shit. Sure, that might eat away at that time frame I slammed into my brain, but writing is a process and I HAVE to remember that. I'm giving myself time to explore this piece, to breathe life into it, and that's okay. I don't quite have voice down? That will take Time. I know my 1st POV chapters might be shit or on the seat of my pants because I haven't planned out every murder? Time.

See where I'm going with this?

My point is that, as of today, I'm almost halfway done. I've outline to chapter 40, or thereabouts. I have 5o more to go, or thereabouts, and that's okay. It will take time and energy and work. But that. is. okay.

space!

a ring around a planet, except it’s made of debris from war

The Government Is Hot On Their Tails

ketamine!