The Novel idea

Work is going well on the novel, although I'm still not sure where it's going. I'm over 20,000 words in, about four and a half chapters. I'm aiming for twenty-four-ish chapters.

Method? Don't look back, write 800 words a day, use a spreadsheet to keep track, and make up any deficit. Oh, and finally, make the first draft sh_tty. I call it the SFD, and if you know it's going to be bad, because the name of it is actually telling you it's bad, then it can be very freeing.

I use freemind to keep track of characters and major plot movements, and add detail as I approach each section. Then I write the section, and then go back to freemind. It seems to be working so far, but it doesn't make for having a complete story, start to finish. Ah, well.