I’m around 22 chapters through this redraft. This is down to me splitting chapters and writing a few new scenes. It’s helping that I’m taking out the far fetched science fiction subplot. It also helps that because the novel has already been written, I have a lot of material to choose from. I’ve been dumping some of the more interesting deleted scenes into a new folder.

From Chapters 10-18 I’ve been concentrating on Ann’s sudden disappearence and revelations about her identity, the growing influence of Red Clogs, Jan’s further descent into depression and Peter’s return to Rotterdam to find that his shop and home have been boarded up. From the changes and edits I’ve made I now have to go back and make some more cuts.

I’m confident that, despite the odd bit of procrastination, the toast toppers, the endless over scheduling of the new bathroom, my current voluntary redundacy, the search for a new job, the Jammie Dodgers, watching Star Trek franchises on Virgin 1 and a few other things that feel designed to knock me off my stride and challenge my sanity, I should have completed this draft by the end of the year.