Adding twists

In this lovely limbo world I have created for myself this week (having completed *Quest* and not yet feeling guilty about not writing on *False Perceptions*), I enjoyed a play date with Shann and Taafa. As complicated as I thought I made their lives last time I wrote out outline point ideas, I see that my scene list is still too short to make a novel of 120K, my new goal. Now, it seems I *always* write short, so I’m really going to try to get my first draft up there somewhere in the neighborhood of the actual goal. I know I can add stuff in revision, subplots and more description, which I’m weak on, but wouldn’t it be easier to get it close to right to start with? It seems so from this vantage point, where I am stretching my leg muscles behind the starting block, just waiting for the race official to wave the flag for the beginning of this new marathon.

You always love to hear about my goals, right? :p Okay. Next week I’m back at *False Perceptions* until IT IS FINISHED by golly. I allow myself till the end of March, but it will be pathetic if it takes that long. There can’t be more than 10K left to write.

Pacing. The goals for Shann are as follows: Starting by April 4 (beginning of a new week), I plan (bad me, I almost wrote *hope*!) to write about 1500 words per day, Monday through Friday. Sixteen weeks of this should see me with a finished first draft of about 120K. If I get slack or (gasp) take some vacation time, add a few weeks. So, the end of July to the end of August. Then it will be revision time for *False Perceptions* with the 2yn class.

Now I still have to contemplate subplots for Shann. Why are these always so difficult for me to put a finger on?