I’ve been chugging along slowly, but surely. Mostly slowly. I was able to draft almost 7500 words on the Lost & Found novella before I slowed things down. I realized that I knew the end of the story, but some of the middle parts were fuzzy. And, since I was diving head first into writing the middle section, I knew I had to clear things up.
In order to hash out the blank spots in my storyline, I decided to write backwards. Or, better said, outline backwards. Since I knew how it ended, I wanted to make sure every step in the story lead me there. Plot point by plot point, I outlined backwards, identifying what happened in that plot section and what was the hook to make the reader want to continue on. Eventually I made it through the fuzzy middle and to where my actual writing had stopped.
Now I have to move forward again, one word at a time, fleshing out those plot sections with dialogue, action and character. Yes, that’s the hardest part, especially on the first draft, but at least I’ve devised a road map to get there.