Progress Report 2022 Week 33

I had some ambitious goals last week. They included writing the wrap-up chapters for Evolution’s Hand Book 3: Primary Target! Did I start those final chapters? Are we getting close to publication time for Evolution’s Hand Book 2: Dying Breath? What’s next for the series? Let’s take a look at the numbers first.

Progress Report 2022 Week 33 By the Numbers

More than ten thousand words for the week? That sounds promising!

I won’t try to artificially inflate the suspense: the first draft of Primary Target is complete! It’s longer than Executive Action but shorter than Dying Breath. I managed to wrap it up on Saturday night, which is unusual. Generally, I write from 10:00AM to 12:00PM on weekends. But I was so close to finishing that I couldn’t wait for Sunday, and I pulled a double writing session.

So what did I do Sunday? I began to get ready for the next book! I copied the Scrivener project as the seed. The process is straight forward. I copy the file from the previous novel (which is really a directory), rename it, remove the manuscript chapters, and make adjustments to the cast. For example, some characters may have died, and others may have changed positions.

Except I didn’t copy it. I moved it. And I didn’t notice until I had removed all the chapters.

Now, you may realize I didn’t lead with that news. And, you’ve probably guessed since I’m still writing this post, that I recovered from my self-inflicted wound. All I can say is this: Apple’s Time Machine is fantastic. Within five minutes of realizing I had nearly destroyed eight months of work, Time Machine restored the file.

All I can say is that I’m glad I invested in a hard drive to dedicate to Time Machine. Otherwise, I might have had to retype all eight months’ worth of work.

I used the opportunity to test Scrivener’s own backups. It creates a ZIP of the work prior to quitting. It worked, too. So did the copy I sync off site using Google Drive. I had three redundant backups, and I only needed to use the first one. So, it’s all good!

And I’m sure I’ll eventually stop shaking!

The Next Three Books in the Series

I’ve been working on the over-arching plot for the next three books. Why three? The only honest answer I can give is that what came to me. In his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King talked about story ideas as fossils that the writer must carefully excavate. In his book called Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer: The Artistry, Joy, and Career of Storytelling, J. Michael Straczynski talked about how the writer can’t force story ideas. Instead, one has to approach them almost as if they are skittish animal. At least from my experience, I have to say they’re both right!

I’m writing a trilogy because that’s how I found it.

Today, I’m happy to announce the titles of the next three books to you before anyone else hears about them:

• Evolution’s Hand Book 5: Blind Exodus
• Evolution’s Hand Book 6: Darkness Falls
• Evolution’s Hand Book 7: Crypsis

And I even have a good idea about what the last scenes of Crypsis will be like.

I’d love to know what you think of the titles. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2022 Week 33

1. Begin discovering the plot of Blind Exodus
2. Begin pre-proof reader edit of Dying Breath

I have one of the main plots sketched out for Blind Exodus. Most of Executive Action, Dying Breath, and Primary Target focused on the Executives and high-placed government officials. I wanted to change that up. One of the main characters from Blind Exodus is Owen Johnson, a Staff worker from Wooster, Ohio. I want to show the dystopian world I’ve created through his eyes and the eyes of his family. I’m working out the other characters I’ll feature, and I may have more to say about that next week.

What Do You Think?

How do you celebrate finishing your first drafts? How do you go about preparing to write the next book? I’d love to hear your perspective! Feel free to share it in the comments!