Gimme danger, little stranger

Inside Ed’s Head 2023-10-16

#Music

Low on inspiration this week, so here’s something:

#Last Week

Okay, so my goal last week was to finish the outline for OPERATION HIGH-CONCEPT. And did I? Yes. I did. On Friday, I finished what Charlie Brooker (Black Mirror etc) calls the vomit draft. I got a start and worked my way through the sixty chapters until I got to the end. Took it very slowly and thoroughly, then got a good feeling from it. Whether that lasts, let’s just see!

I approached that outline in a much more systematic way than anything I’ve done before. I’d broken the story into the nine major plot points, then weaved my way through them. I’ve got some big twists in there, which I really like.

I also did a little bit of work on a secret project that I’ve not talked about to anyone. It’s shaping up pretty nicely and it’ll blow people’s minds when it comes out.

#This Week

This week’s goal is to finish the outline tightening. I’ve been working on it today, porting it from Scapple—the freeform outlining tool I use—into Scrivener, Scapple’s sister app, which is where I do my writing. I’m taking it chapter by chapter to make sure I take it all slowly and thoroughly, like I said ^^^. The first half is pretty straightforward and the worries I had when I was creating it have sort of faded into the fluff. It’s quite a straightforward story, but heavy on character. Not as complex as some of my other work, but hopefully packing an emotional punch. The second half might take me the rest of the week, and I want to let it sit and rest for a few days before I give it all another read through.

One thing I’m worried about is how many of the plot developments come from phone calls from the team, so I need to make those more active.

After that, I’ll be working up the second Marshall series bible. It’ll be three novels, planning on releasing them April, August and December. It’ll give me a few months for people to catch up all the way to book 4 (and I’ve got Fenchurch 10 out in that window too!). I’m avoiding putting anything on pre-order as it’s mighty stressful when you haven’t got the work written, that’s for sure. Felt like I’ve been chasing my tail all summer, but it’s feeling a lot more free now I’ve got no more deadlines. I’ve got about five or six ideas I need to select and flesh out into actual stories that can be written, then sequence them so that Marshall and co have story arcs that are satisfying. I can’t wait to see what people make of book 4, which drops two weeks tomorrow!

In other news, I’m hitting it hard health-wise too. I’m doing my walks first thing in the morning, in the bracing cold air. Glorious! And I bought an indoor bike, so I’m sitting here all sweaty from a half hour cycle in front of the Morning Show on Apple TV (so far, season 3 is much better than 2). And I’m fasting again. I want to get my weight quite low to avoid all these heart issues I’ve had. Aim is to lose a stone by Xmas time – let’s see how I go!

Have an awesome week!

Cheers,

Ed