The Book Two Posts, Ep. 8 and Organizing

The book is at nearly 98K now, and I'm currently in the process of rereading, editing, tightening, polishing, and moving things around in a way that makes sense.

There are still a few problem areas to be fixed before I'll think of it as anywhere near complete. I think that it flows well in most areas, and I'm still struggling with one or two plot threads. I'm hoping that moving things around will help solve some of the issues. It's like I already had a solution to the problem, but I wasn't making the most of it.

The closer I get to finishing a book, the more I'm thinking about the overall progress of each plot and how they interrelate. It's a bit like backwards engineering because I try to keep my beginning outline loose with plenty of room to explore. If I find myself wanting to skip over a spot, that's the sign that something in that part isn't working, and I have to analyze it and sometimes rewrite it or reconsider some of my decisions.

As I'm nearing completion of Book Two, I'm lightly entertaining ideas about Book Three. I don't want to overthink it, but when characters, dialogue, or situations come to mind, I will write them down on my spreadsheet of ideas for the next book. So far, I have about three plots in mind for Book Three. Already, I'm overwhelmed, so I'm trying not to think about it. Why can't I do anything simple? Why do I have to always make it hard on myself by biting off more than I can chew?

In other news, I'm in the process of organizing my office/art room. It's been a long time coming, but a lot of that was due to a health issue. I had the major part of the health issue taken care of in December. For a few weeks afterward, I was afraid that I would have to have the next procedure sooner than I expected, but, as it turns out, I think I was simply healing from the first procedure. I find that I'm almost pain-free now, but I'll still have to get the other procedures eventually.

That being said, the pain had really held me back for a long time, but I've been working on the office/art room recently. I bought a new desk, a new drafting table, and I've been moving bookcases and tables around. There's so much to do, but it's getting there! I have to go now and try to finish sorting because I can't get to the front door to go to work tomorrow if I don't. :-)