Moving Along

I'm writing the Cass project different than anything else I've written. Typically, I write in the order things go in. I write the beginning, then the middle, then the end. It's different with this one.

I think working on my thesis has something to do with that. With the thesis I worked on the pieces individually, then pulled them together at the end. It was the only way I could get it done and it forced me to see the overall vision differently. It loosened me up, mostly.

With Cass, I'm doing the same thing. I started off by kind of circling it. I had a couple of story ideas and I wrote those stories down as they came to me. I knew they were all connected, and I could see a sketchy kind of timeline that connected them, but I didn't worry about the particulars. I knew I'd sort that out later.

After a few stories, I started one that felt like it had enough going on in it that it should be more than a story.

A few weeks later, after writing a couple pieces that'd fit in with the same plotline, I decided that I wanted to try and make a novel out of this. This week is when I've really started putting it all together. I've got about four stories that just don't fit, so they're tucked away to save for later. I've also got about the same number of stories/scenes I wrote out a while ago that do fit. A piece here, a piece there, and as I'm fiddling with it all, I can see that I already have a chapter 1, 3, 6(or so), one that'll be around chap. 12 or so, and a scene that'll fit into one of the last chapters.

It's like a quilt. So, I'm working my way linearly for now, stitching things together as I go and filling in what needs filling in. And, almost before I realized it, I had 30 pages. It's cool. It's exciting to see this book coming together like this.

Still need to figure out a title for it, but I've got 30 pages today and I'm not due for another CWC submission until March. I'm ahead. The novelty of it is nice.