Three weeks ago, I posted about my progress on the WIP. I’m re-writing to the extent that the current work is essentially a second ‘first draft’, in that I’ve made many changes to the content and the style of presentation. At that point, I’d reached 32,427 words in 15 chapters. The alterations have significantly improved the book, and the story will now tell the tale I first envisaged in a more vibrant and accessible manner.

Today, I start on chapter 31. The word count now stands at 71,521.

My normal method of writing is to create the characters, befriend them, and then set them down in a location I’ve selected, either real or imagined depending on the nature of the story, and let them take the story toward to the destination in have in mind. This normally means the timeline is linear. I’ve used this system to write my first nine published novels. Now, however, because of the nature of the story and its treatment I’ll use more backstory, which will create a piece of work more likely to engage all readers from the very beginning. If I left it as it’s currently constructed, some readers would probably judge the book as intended for a YA readership. It is, in fact aimed at all readers (apart from children. I don’t write for children). But the idea requires me to detail certain aspects of the lives, attitudes, and opinions of the two main protagonists and their immediate circle of friends and family from their early years. If I leave it in linear form, the timeline will require the first dozen chapters to be presented from the pov of a child growing into a teenager.

So, something of an experiment for me. Once I’ve completed this version of the first draft, I will, as usual, leave it to mature for a while and then return to it to work in some social and descriptive detail, but, and this is the unusual part for me, I will also need to alter the sequence of chapters in a way that will make the book more obviously intended for mature readers. Wish me luck!

Here on the blog, I’ll keep you informed of progress on this different work. So, keep your eyes peeled for new posts about where I’m at.

As always, I welcome comments, likes and shares. Feel free to join in.