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Not going quite so well, this time ...

It began well. But I introduced a second issue that would impact on the first and found it wasn't working with the same logic and ease. Everything I thought of seemed to give rise to more and more to think of - hence the additional bits of paper stapled together as my exploration got too big for the page. Stuck, I paused for thought. Should I buy a new stationery tidy, now I have this second desk? Ooh, look, I didn't realise that my long-arm stapler could extend its reach just by moving something along a bit ... I clicked my pen and stared at the plan. By the end of the day all I had decided was that the second issue wasn't working.

During the evening, my subconscious kept drawing my attention away from the TV, my dinner, and the book I was reading, worrying at the second issue. Just as I was going to bed - bingo! I realised what was wrong with my issue (too close to something I'd used in another book) and what I could do to change it.

The important thing, to me, is that the plan did its job. Knowing when something isn't working is as important as knowing when it is.

So, back to my second desk, this afternoon, to work on secondary character bios, drawing all the many pieces of my jigsaw together. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I feel ready to type 'Chapter 1′ into a new Word document on my Mac. Me and my subconscious have a lot to do before that.

NB My subconscious isn't the only thing I listen to. Conscious thought does a lot of puzzling - and an agent and/or publisher might have some input, too.

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