Courtney Cantrell shares her work in progress

Moments ago, I finished mapping out what I have left to do before I have a complete first draft of SHADOWS AFTER MIDNIGHT. Or whatever the working title is.

1. I need to fill in the gaps of story in chapters 4, 5, 7, and 14.

2. I need to write Chapter 8.

3. I need to go through the whole document and delete all the “extras” I didn’t backspace out of existence during National Novel Writing Month. (By the way, it flabbergasts me that I can consistently manage to write 50,000 words every November, yet I struggle the rest of the year to pen more than 10k every six weeks. Ahh….what a little pressure won’t do for a hapless writer’s motivation!)

4. I need to make final decisions regarding the placement of several bits of demonic inter-chapteral monologue.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to marry chapters 8 and 9. Lest you think I’ve converted to bigamy, I mean that I am bringing those two chapters together in wedded bliss, to have and to hold, may death do them part, ad infinitum. I predict they will be very happy together and spawn many a joyful reader.

Oh, and yesterday I finished writing the novel’s climax, simultaneously breaking 60,000 words. “The End,” here I come!

I’ll keep you posted.

Photo credit Julie V. Photography.