by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I have a pretty good system going when it comes to this novel. I alternate between developing and writing and sitting down and reading through what I’ve written. This helps a lot because I’ve noticed a lot — A LOT — of structural problems with the flow of reading.
This novel has a very Barry-eques nature to it.
But the downside of this is I’ve found myself spinning my wheels in the first few chapters of the third draft. I’m officially in a put-up-or-shut up era of this novel’s development. I need to start progressing past the first act and start a new, third draft of the rest of the novel.
I’ve kind of decided that whatever I have by November 1st, is what I got for the first act. But I think there’s a good chance that I will be in the second act well before that. I continue to do all of this in a vacuum, so, lulz, I have no idea if any of this is any good or not.
My hunch is it is. There is a progression of events that is pretty good. It’s very interesting. The ebb and flow of the story is such that I know that if you are willing to give it a chapter or two that you’ll be hooked and you’ll be willing to spend the time necessary to finish the novel.
The key thing is as the novel evolves, I’ve managed to infuse a story that to date as been all plot with a lot of character development.
