I eventually got the Monastery session over with, completing a sentence for 72 scenes. Turned out pretty messy.  I had intended to type and print the result before transferring to a new set of cards, but I’m glad I didn’t.

During the transfer, my 72 scenes turned into 58 as I added new ones, chopped one, and combined others.

Instead of sourcing coloured index cards, I colour the edges, thus showing how much each scene needs changing. Here’s my stack for Dragon Sworn. Yikes! A lot of pink, but not unexpected.

This morning, I did lesson 11: checking the story maths. Taniel gets 40% of the story, so needs about 32,000 – 40,000 words of the overall total. Sam and Hanrey have 30% between them. Rufus, the green dragon, gets a couple of scenes so we can keep an eye on the Midwitch and her dragon. Dax and Jarryd get a handful each, and Saka’s POV keeps sight of the antagonists.

Lesson 12 tomorrow will see a bit of work on character sharpening and scene purpose. This is where I finally start turning the novel that I have into the novel that I want.

The pressure is on, for soon we head off in our camper-trailer, returning to Dunbogan, in New South Wales, where we stayed last year. We’ll be out on the water a few times a day in the kayaks, and we usually do a lot of walking. Plenty of  exercise, fresh air, and sunshine. I can see myself sitting at one of the riverside tables, happily rewriting Dragon Sworn, by hand.

Can’t wait!

🙂