I'm back on a writing roll. I wrote on Monday, and then for a little bit tonight. And tomorrow, my friend S and I are going to write together.

I'm a bit bored editing my finished novel, so I'm now plotting out Book 1 of my elf girl chronicles. I sketched out a couple of new characters and now I am beginning to write the plot for book 1. Even though the chronicles will be in 7 books, I'd like each book to be distinct and be able to stand on its own.

I believe Tennessee Williams wrote his novels this way. He wanted every chapter to stand on their own like a short story, and thinking this way made it easier for him to write.

Book 1 will set up the conflict that drives the whole series, and so many things have to be introduced including the characters. An acting director I know does this. He has all his actors in his play appear in the first scene to 1) make the actors feel comfortable on stage right away and 2) introduce by sight all the people in the play to the audience. Book 1 will have to introduce, even if it's just for a page or two, all of the major characters in the story. Even the evil characters will need to be introduced.

Wow, this is getting so complicated. I have to write out so many notes, and keep track of so many things. But I think it will be fun because it will be like a detective puzzle trying to figure out what comes next. It' s a good thing I"m a pretty darn good detective on some level, and enjoy figuring out how things works, because it's going to tough to figure this all out.