I don't make it a secret how I develop a book. I get a general idea based on an organic hook, develop that into a plot, get roughly half the story, the twists and turns, and then the ending. Once I get the ending, the writing begins.
The perpetual problem I have is I never have a full story. At about the 3/4 mark, I run out of plot and start improvising until I get to the end. Heartspark's third quarter wasn't written until nearly five years after the first draft was complete. Fairchance wasn't a whole lot different.
As I began on the second third of Quantum Crossing, I discovered I gave this epic science fiction novel the same treatment. The story is mapped out until the start of the third book, where it trails off into some dark wilderness.
I spent an incredible amount of time this evening mapping out the remainder of Quantum Crossing. It wasn't easy, and I feel like I freewheeled some of it (that'll be later Mike's problem, though). I couldn't stop there, though. Since I am strictly a chapter title person, I made a point of carefully curating my titles, and then I made a chart so I could stare at them. These are still subject to change, of course, but since there's nothing spoilery about them, I'll make you stare at them, too.

The bold represents finished chapters, which represents work completed from February to December 2024. Based on that, I have twenty more months to go. See you on the other side.
Comments