Ramblings

National Novel Writing Month starts November 1 (in 10 days). This year I thought about participating since Book 4 is only a glimmer in my eye at the moment. But I don't expect to be able to write everyday. My schedule won't permit it.

I should be working on Book 4 by then regardless. That sounds so weird to me. Just a year ago, I had little hope of selling Book 1 and now I'm preparing to write Book 4. Maybe the Hell did freeze over.

And as I consider the plot and characters for the novel I begin to be concerned about character continuity from book to book. I never had to deal with this before but I need to now because I'm seeing some shifts in my characters. I'm not talking about character growth and their natural evolution as a result of the events they live through. I'm talking about a lack of continuity where no growth or change has occurred.

For example, Sir Ahlan, the knight who leads the other characters is an expert tactician, but I'm not sure he behaves as such all the time. I think that was a lapse in Book 3 that I need to correct. I also need to prevent such lapses in the future. I have notes on all the characters; I may need to refer to them more as I write. Or I may need more detailed notes so I don't have to remember everything they've done.

But that's not the only problem in Book 3; another is the characters rehash the same points over and over again. Some of it may be legitimate and some of it may be an excuse for me to fill pages. This is one reason the draft is only a draft and it sits waiting for me until I complete a draft of Book 4. My plan is to write Book 4 over the fall and winter and in the spring of 2013 began revising Book 3. That assumes I've sold Book 2 and don't need to revise it too extensively.

But that plan may be too ambitious. That's how Book 3 was written and it needs a good shakedown. Perhaps writing in an assembly line manner won't work for me. I don't know but I'll figure out once I revise Book 3 next year.

Keep writing, everyone.