I'm finally caught up on my current novel, Sixteen Miles from Everywhere. It's always a bit disconcerting to be ready to work on a project, but to not be able to remember where you'd left off, and have to track down all those pesky plot points you'd left dangling. So I went back and re-read and tweaked the opening 166 pages of the novel thus far.

To keep me on task as I begin drafting again, in longhand, on the Moleskine notebook, I put together a Post-It note that I'm sticking into the book as a bookmarker for wherever I leave off making words each day.

Just for the hell of it, here's what it says:

16M Notes - Pt. 2 = Road of Trials

• Gil's tired, not sleeping - chiggers - bare feet
• Antiques, black ball w/ silver lines, garbage
• Penchant for violence (Gil and Noah)
• Ray and 1/2 man, Gardener = Deals made, Herb-ology
• Melissa's headaches, calling Smoot (Plan?)
• Voice of reality vs. 'magination - Noah - Trolls & Prince One-Eye (stories)
• Add chickens, goats, bees? (opening, on farm)
• Elwood's return, agenda
• Shifting tunnels for Gil & Ray
• Mitch stuck in Undercity? Noah coated in dust
• Melissa, Julio, Mariana form own search party
• Daughter

That probably made sense to absolutely no one, but I find it kind of interesting, seeing the novel take shape as I dive into the middle section. I seem to have my biggest trouble with the opening 1/3 of a book, and really enjoy the middle (while a lot of other authors seem to struggle more with the middle). Not sure what that means, either... Probably that I always start in the wrong place!

As an added bonus, I found a good chunk of new writing I'd done for chapter 11 back in November, so I can start typing that in tomorrow, 'round 4:30 a.m. And away-y-y-y we go! Later.