Now, how far have we got?

If anyone reads this, other than myself, then they just may be interested enough to want to know how I am doing. So, here is the latest news, hot off the press.

Writing this also gives me chance to assess my position, to sort out in my mind just where I am at and what still needs to be done, apart from a great deal of hard work which I know about.

At 52,000 words, I have reached the point where I am leading up to the reveal, denouement or to put it simply, the end. I have managed to stick to the plot as I originally laid out, but having changed the angles a little, I was not sure that I had managed to retain the flow, as it were.

Working in two distinct eras has been difficult, but I think I have pulled it off - but only time will tell. I have done all the spadework, and now it is time for the planting. Tossing ideas back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean has been a boon (the wonders of modern technology) so hopefully the story makes sense still. From now on, the story begins to run towards its conclusion, I hope without too many bewildering twists and turns, or diversions.

Being a simple bloke, I have tried to keep the story simple, if only for my own benefit. Perhaps that is what people enjoy most?

So, onwards and upwards as they say. I don't know whether the story will run out before the wordcount gets to the desired level or what, but I am conscious that this is only the beginning. If my count was correct, the first Harry Potter was about 88 thousand. It will have to be read (believe it or no, I have not read what I have written - others have, but I have not) and I expect I will be either surprised, pleased or disappointed when I get to that position.

That is not the point, however, for it will have to be crafted into a saleable story, that is what it is all about. All I have at the moment is the bare bones, a sketch if you like, formed entirely from my fevered imagination: it will need to be coloured in, people and events given shape in order that they become three dimensional, to come alive, and to do that will require information.

I have some books from the library and I have spoken with people, so that when I have finished the framework, I can go through it with a fine tooth comb and trusty thesaurus, hopefully to produce what is required.

I have obtained a copy of County Records for the years I am interested in, and they are proving very interesting, a veritable goldmine. There are records of such heinous crimes as sheep stealing, causing a disturbance, being a scold, annoying the neighbours, selling bad meat and carrying out a trade without having served an apprenticeship - such lawless times!

So, to finish what I am on with now, then a rest for more research, then out with the blue pencil!

Happy days!