Writing update

With today’s entry, I have completed the primary plot arc. That sounds like a big deal, and I guess it is. But there is still soooooooo much to do. The timeline is full of inconsistencies. POV wanders willy-nilly (omniscient, but needs taming). I’m way out on a limb with some of the technological events. There is no Act 1 or denouement. Much of the storytelling is fragmented and includes notes to myself. Characters need further development…

So, a milestone of sorts, but nothing to celebrate.

Today’s word count: 952

Writing update

High tech stuff today. This one will need further research to nail down the science.

Today’s word count: 854

image: Ernesto del Aguila III, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH

 

Writing update

The third book is well under way, and it’s proving to be more ambitious than the first two. I tend to avoid outlining, preferring to let things shape up organically. But there is just too much going on in this one to not have some sort of road map.  Ha ha, see what I did there? Of course you don’t, because you have no idea what the story is. But I did something.

I’ve always preferred to write privately and keep the curtain closed. But I’m going to open it a crack this time, as I go along, to help me stay on mission.

However, time spent writing here is time not writing there. So the crack will reveal only this: each day’s word count. These are rough draft numbers. Bulk production is the name of the game at this stage. Finesse comes later.

As of yesterday evening, I had 8366 words.

Today’s word count: 782.

Lightning

A new study suggests lightning may be weak or nonexistent in Martian dust storms. Researchers vibrated basalt grains at various atmospheric pressures to test their ability to build up charge.

Lightning in a dust storm plays a role in my forthcoming book, Air: Generation Mars, Book One. Hard science fiction is a moving target. Still, the fictional strike in question is weak and only damaging to electrical equipment, so I think it’s plausible.