Act 1 Is Complete!

I just finished the first draft of Act 1!

Now, I'm excited about filling in the outline for Act 2 and moving the story forward. A lot of exciting stuff is about to go down!

The first draft for this act is 56,200 words.

Moved In!

My son and I are moved in to a new apartment! We were living in a studio for the last fourteen months, thanks to some good friends who were charging us a low rent. However, it was tough, especially since my six-year-old has a lot of energy and needs room to run around. At the new place, he has that. We even went out briefly today for a day-late Father's Day trip to Starbucks, and to get some groceries, and he wanted to come back home!

I've got more unpacking to do, but I've become pretty Spartan in the number of belongings I have. Those who say to simplify and that stuff isn't everything are right. Have the things you need, and a few things you really want, and you'll be pretty set. Plus, these days, you can have most of your books on a tablet, store for you in The Cloud. (Which, as those of us who have been active on the Internet since the mid-90s still think of as "an offsite server.")

Even though I won't be able to get Clark into day care immediately, he's doing so well in the new place that I can actually get significant work done, even with him home. I'm up to 48,600 words in Bodacious Creed, nearly 1/3 of the way done! After I get a little more done around the new apartment, I plan to get to at least 50,000 words tonight. And, now that things have settled down, I expect to get the first draft done in the next two to three months!

So, friends and backers, please hang in there! I know I originally thought I'd have this done by August this year, but that was before I realized that the book would end up running so long, and before some of the financial troubles I ran into. It is on its way!

Oh! I'm also running a GoFundMe campaign to help with moving expenses. We really needed all the donations we've received so far. I still need to pay the deposit (they're very understanding here to wait for it), and to replace my car, which broke down irretrievably during the move. I'll be working hard at my online job to pay as much as I can, but of course, any help would be wonderful.

The main reason I mention the campaign here, though, is because I'm offering a bunch of Bodacious Creed related rewards, many of which are actually worth much more than you'd pay otherwise! These include custom 3D character models, appropriate for 3D printing!

Act 1 Timeline Finished!

Good news, everyone!

(I could absolutely see Professor Farnsworth from Futurama in a Steampunk and Wild West setting.)

I just finished the timeline for Act 1 of Bodacious Creed in Aeon Timeline. What that means is that it'll be pretty easy for me to finish writing this act in the next week.

Once that is done, I have two acts to go! I've had a busy year, but I'm stepping up the speed at which I'm writing. Of course, then, it will require rereading and lots of rewriting and editing, but one step at a time, right? I'm happy with the story, and I think you all will be, too.

I realize the wait is going to be longer than I thought at first, but I'll make it totally worth it.

I just added two scenes to Bodacious Creed, and a few thousand more words! I should hit 40,000 soon!

I have been very busy with my day job, writing a lot of articles. We're in a lull right now, after having just finished up a huge phase of one project, so kudos to the writing team I'm proud to be part of. While I'm waiting for the second phase to kick into gear, I have extra time to devote to Bodacious Creed, so I'm taking advantage of that.

The last scene is one I had been looking forward to since I started plotting. It's dark, and exciting, so that was a lot of fun.

Exciting New Scenes

I've been doing a lot of writing lately for my day job, which is how I earn a living week to week. I write articles, and the more I write, the more I earn. Rest assured, I'm working on Bodacious Creed, too, though I've had to slow down on the writing for that.

Today, I figured I'd get a Bluetooth keyboard for my tablet so I could do my day job outside the house. I got the keyboard, went to Starbucks, and tried pairing it with my tablet. (I have a Nook HD+ from Barnes & Noble, and excellent tablet, particularly for it's very low price.) The keyboard and Nook just wouldn't pair. I think that, once I can afford it, I'm going to get the keyboard designed for the Nook.

Anyway, I had the notebook I've been writing new scenes for Bodacious Creed in, so I got to work. I have a few thousand more word to type in, which will end up getting longer as I type them in. I forgot a few details as I was speed writing, so I went back and wrote some keywords in the margins to remind me to include them.

I've plotted the story out such that there are frequently exciting new developments for the reader to enjoy, and that makes the writing extra fun. No spoilers, though, which kind of sucks for me, since I'd love to rave about what I wrote today. The thing is, you'll read it. When the book is done, revised, and polished, this will all be out there.

I Lied

So, I lied yesterday, to all of you, but mostly, to myself.

It seems it really is my pattern to, now and then, write some new scene that just springs from my head, and to have to scrap it. I really write a lot better when I plan ahead, and I think that's because I really have to think about what my characters would do before I set it to paper or screen. The upshot of writing these scenes is that they often reveal something to me about the characters, or help me to find solutions for nagging plot problems, which this did.

There's 1,400 words shifted over into another file, my equivalent of the cutting room floor.

I've already made up some of that, though, and plan to make up all those words today. Plus, it cleared my head and allowed me to envision how to approach the actual scenes I had planned. I'm writing one of the first sequences I envisioned when I decided to make Bodacious Creed a novel!

Back to the Story!

I just wrote the next scene of Bodacious Creed! I just have to say that it's exciting finally getting back to it.  I wrote about 1,400 words today, and this is reflected in the updated word count, 35,600.

The thing is, I had some weird problems with Scrivener. Last week I went to open the file, and it just wouldn't open. I can't fully blame Scrivener, as it happened when I had it open and had a computer crash. Still, this shouldn't happen. You'd think it would have at least opened to the previous version.

With a little tinkering I got it to open up, but, little did I realize, a few scenes were missing. Then, they would start appearing as I added new scenes. I'd go to add the next scene from where I was, and it would be filled with text that was supposed to be in another part of the book. This was Scrivener opening the individual text files that belong in the project, but it somehow overlooked when I managed to (mostly) restore the project file.

So, some of my time today was spent getting those stranded scenes back where they belong.

This scene is interesting in that it wasn't one I expected to write, or even planned. Usually when I start writing a scene like that, I scrap it, realizing it will change the direction of the story. This one actually fits, and sets up something that is going to happen in the next chapter.

So, the upshot of all this is, Bodacious Creed is moving forward again!