I do a little writing for my job - straightforward items in our monthly magazine - but I find that the first and biggest step is just getting something written. Editing and fixing up can come later, but getting that first version written is the biggie.

It's sort of what Jennifer Crusie talks about with her "Don't Look Down" draft. You just get it all out, and then you go back and figure out what goes where, what fits, what's missing, etc.

That sounds like what I'm doing right now. My wife is reading it behind me and I know some changes I'll be making based on her comments, but I'm just making a few notes and going forward.

Chapter 12 is done. I've got about 79,000 words now. Sounds like 11 and 12 will need some tweaking but no massive problems. I love the ending of chapter 12. One character gets separated from the rest of the group and is assumed dead. She'll drop out of the story for a bit.

I started chapter 13 and two major characters get killed in rapid succession. Unfortunately I'm not entering a place where I don't have a good visualization of what comes next before hitting my mental image of the end of 14.

From the stuff I have deleted or am planning to delete, I'm thinking my final word count is going to be about 150,000 words instead of 200,000 words. It might grow a bit in revision though. There seem to be more notes about adding more detail or additional scenes than taking stuff out.

I got further into chapter 13 yesterday. I put in somewhere around 1500 words net. I have to delete the last bit I did yesterday because it totally did not work for the characters involved.

I need to do a minor fix of something I wrote last night as well. This is the problem of have all day to think about what I wrote the night before.

This morning while on the treadmill I think I figured out the rest of chapter 13 and part of chapter 14 as well. Chapter 15 has been figured out for awhile, but it is going to be really short. After that, just selected scenes and major plot points with foggy places in between. The ending I know really well, but I think there needs to be a little bit of epilogue and I don't have that all figured out yet.

Last night should have put me over 80,000 words. With my planned deletions among future scenes, that means I should be a little past the halfway point of my first draft.

Whoo! Go you! Halfway is awesome.

I've gotten into mid Chapter 16 now. That puts me at 93,000 words. Getting there.

Chapter 16 is slow but interesting to write. My 3rd person limited perspective is on a new and very different character will a different outlook on things. That character is interacting with the character who had been the central character in chapters 1-12 and 15. And they don't speak a common language. Then there is the intimate scene in the chapter. There are only two of those in the whole story. I guess I'll see how that goes. Also, I don't think I'm taking full advantage of the new perspective, but that's what revision is for I suppose.

About how long do you want your chapters? I'm never sure, myself.

My chapters are ending up around 5000 - 6000 words though I'm just breaking where it seems like a good place for a break or where there is an obvious break in the story. Chapter 15 was only around 1000 words though as there was no logical way to put it into another chapter.

Gud, break your chapters a page or two after the obvious scene ender. You want your reader reluctant to put the book down. Don't tie a bow on a chapter for them, make them read on!