I finished the first draft of the current novel on 19 January, with 63269 words written. For reasons I’m unclear about, I neglected to write one of these posts on the following Wednesday, my regular day for this. I probably forgot in the joy of getting the story on the page! So, my apologies for that.

Subsequently, I had nothing to report on the WIP (some people are unsure of the meaning of that acronym, which is Work in Progress), so I haven’t posted on the topic since.

In the meantime, I’ve been doing other things. A few interviews, here and here, and posts as a guest on other websites, the usual ‘word’ posts, updating my table of contests, entering a few competitions, and generally relaxing, reading, and reviewing.

Now, however, I’ve let the novel lie for long enough to approach it with a fresh mind. For the current stage of the creation as a pantster, I’ve printed off the chapters written, giving me 167 A4 pages of text. I’ve also printed off 19 pages of notes made during the writing. Now begins the first edit. For a pantster, the first draft is really just a very extended synopsis. My next job is to shape it into a readable story before I begin on the more technical edits to ready it for the publisher.

I’ll keep you informed of progress as before.

But if you want to see the results of this type of exercise along the way, by all means read any of my books (details are in the side panels of the website and on the ‘Books and Other Published Work’ page). If you do, I’d appreciate a review. Just a few words, posted to whichever site you used to buy the book and, if possible, to Goodreads and Amazon. But please don’t feel obliged. It’s simply that reviews are the strongest means of getting books noticed in a seriously overcrowded marketplace. Thank you.

The picture above, by the way, illustrates a major theme in the new novel; that of the part AI may play in our futures. It was taken from the free picture site, Pixabay.