30,000 and counting...

....22 chapters and I have a clearer idea where things are going for Angie, Ryan, David and the rest of the group. 

I realised, chatting with Lovely Boyfriend one night, that I was running the risk of turning my novel into a self-help guide to the 12-steps and CBT. That's not what I set out to write! So, after a couple of hours on the phone, I came up with a vague idea that has now started cementing itself in actual words. There's still some way to go (I've probably got to go back to some earlier chapters and tweak things, as you do when you suddenly develop a new plotline) but there's actually some light at the end of the tunnel. 

I was really starting to panic about where I was taking my characters and what they were going to do for the next 30,000 words. I still don't have the fine details worked out (I don't have chapter outlines like I did for Hospital Corners and my NaNovel effort), but I have a STORY which is what counts.

It's not going to be pretty, but that's what first drafts are all about! And it's not going to be pretty for some of the characters either - but that's what happens with mental ill-health. Not everyone in the group is going to get better. And it's often the people who least expect....

I'll be very much a part-time writer again over the next few weeks (which is typical, when I actually have an idea of where to go!) because it's the summer holidays and I have two small Tootsies to entertain. The weather has improved today, so we've been exploring the gardens of our local National Trust property and discovering a roosting bat (well spotted Big Toots!). However, rest assured that my brain is ticking over the Agoraphobics Anonymous characters as I go about my own life.