Chapter 6: Call to Arms - Status Update 1

So, I'm swinging away at the beginning of Chapter 6.  This part is being difficult and I'm really having to work to get it written.  Not because it is difficult, but because it is something I've added as part of the Chapter 5 re-org and isn't as well thought out yet.  Mostly I have a bunch of bullet points of things happening and I've been wrestling with how to present them in ways that enhance the story and aren't boring.  I think I've worked it out, but I'm still slowly hacking through it.

The current word count is only 32, 494 words.

Once I get past this tar pit, the rest of the chapter is better laid out and should flow more quickly.  Well, sort of.  After this part, I get into the weeds of some police investigation needed to convey story and a bit of military action to keep story bits moving along.  Then I can finally get to the significant plot points for this chapter and those are pretty well outlined.

The other thing I'm working with is my gamer ADD.  I've stopped running games so I can concentrate on writing this novel.  I have to be fairly ruthless with adventure ideas and campaign concepts that try to derail my writing.  I'm playing in a (mostly) regular weekly Pathfinder game.  My Hero System group is getting together again to run a Pulp Hero game during the summer.  The GM is a high school English teacher and her work schedule is fairly grueling.  I at least get to leave work at work - she has to bring it home so it can get half of it done.  Papers won't grade themselves while she's teaching classes all day.  Ungrateful papers...

I've also got an interesting idea for automating the project documentation we do at work for every project.  I think I can see how to put a HTML front end on a database so all the necessary paperwork has all the necessary information without hand entering it in to each document.  Still scribbling out design specs in spare moments at work when I need a break from whatever I'm working on.  It's a cool problem to solve and engages many of the same mental muscles as writing does, so I have to keep the two things in separate mental boxes.

The document database is cool and all, but the novel will get published.

Later!