I’ve set up the story using a four act structure. Some people may say that a story always has three acts. However, in most cases, there is some sort of change in the middle of the second act. This effectively allows you to split it into four. So my second and third acts are effectively the second act in a three act story.

My first draft is taking shape, but it’s taking me a long time. I have a rough outline of the entire novel and I’m somewhere in act three. So far, I’ve written just over a hundred thousand words. I will trim this down on editing, but it will still be a long story. Having looked at it, and done the maths, I think I have about 63,000 words left to right. And obviously, once I’ve written them, I’ve got to edit it, and bring it into shape.

I’ve broken it down into scenes. One scene, or chapter, is about 1800 words. So far, some of them are longer, and it may mean that they need more editing, but that’s the intention. What I’m finding is that for each scene, I’m planning it, dictating it, and then giving it a rough edit. What I’m attempting to do is to write a scene a week. This will take me until the end of October to complete the first draft. That’s a long time, but it gives me an idea of how long it will take. If I gain momentum, I may be able to make it faster.