Progress - 27th of June

This morning, at around one o'clock, I finished Chapter Thirteen - titled Suddenly The Trees Are Giving Way. This obviously means that Silence Before The Storm has also been completed, and right now I'm having a small break before finishing the opening segment of Chapter Fourteen, Somewhere Only We Know. (suddenly the trees are giving way somewhere only we know? GET IT?!)

Chapter 12 is a largely flash-back driven chapter, revealing something important about Vivian and Sebastian Wyre that, hopefully, will offer some kind of insight on the Fectoprine, perhaps managing another dimension in the realism of the intentions of the different sides in this story. It also presents Angelica and Marie's "coming out" stories, although I dare say these might be moved back pretty far.

Chapter 13, on the other hand, has no flash-backs at all - it is all about the nearing to the encounter of Treefingers, and a rather vicious battle between two old enemies. He's a fun little spoiler-free extract from this said battle:

It was probably fortunate that Tide was still in a daze, as it was fair to say that he may have been spared that split second of agony as he combusted, every little thing that built up his rather buffed, well-treated, young body splitting into hundreds of fun-sized pieces and riding on the torrents of blood that covered the trees and grass around him.

Anyway... Chapter 14 will introduce Ian Treale. Yes, I know, Chapter 4 did that. But Chapter 4 and most of the information in it has become dud, anyway. Plus, I have come to agree with both Charles and Jared that holding off on throwing the reader that far in the past of the timeline is a good idea and, because the fate of Treale has been decided and laid out, it is far more meaningful to look into his strange life now.

... 14, 15, 16, and, according to my (admittedly mostly mental) plan, Calibre will be complete.

Silence Before The Storm

Chapter 12 is completed, finally, at around 7200 words. It is very much a flash-back orientated chapter, focusing on some of the more grizzly encounters between competitors and enForcers. It also offers a different perspective of some events already presented in the story, as far back as Chapter 2. It mostly follows the mysterious enForcer Vivian, who shared the spotlight with Wade in the previous chapter, and Sebastian Wyre prior to his death.

I have started C13, which I haven't chosen a name for (I could call it Treefingers, but that's a little too obvious), and it is the beginning of the final stretch of the story: the group finally cross the fence into Treefingers' territory; Seth and August arrive as do Jai and Heath, a little later; and the largest pack of enForcers any of them have had to face are heading in the same direction.

Basically, everything you need to know about the past has been covered. It's time for the story to accelerate and keep its foot off the brake. ^^

The first draft of Calibre is going to be finished before August. This. Is. Exciting. I have never come close to managing this, and I never would have thought this idea of all of them - one that I was particularly precious about executing - would be my first full-length novel. Of course, a shit load of editing will follow its completion: I may or may not try getting some of my shorter story ideas on their way in this period, but my ultimate focus will still be on prepping Calibre to attempt to get it published. :)

Missing the deadline

Well, it was the fifteenth yesterday, and Chapter Twelve was not completed. I don't feel too bad about it - it's not really a case of laziness regarding why I've fallen behind, as my trip to New Zealand had a lot to do with that. But it means I'll be putting more pressure on myself this month to complete four chapters, although I might just settle with three so next month - which, according to the plan, will be the final month for the first draft - I'll be able to create a kick-ass duo of closing chapters. Right?

Chapter 12 is going to include a series of flash-backs regarding the birth of the circle which the entire book has essentially revolved around, plus the confrontation with Wade Valentine and the situation in the water station (which I don't plan to keep going on for too long). The effects of the bond will also be fleshed out more... Yeah, at this point, most of this will probably only make sense to me. But this is for self-reference, after all.

I've done a lot of thinking regarding the nature of my antagonist and, to be honest, I'm overly pretty pleased with it: it's something a little different for the kind of book that Calibre is, and it's an idea I've tried many times with little success. In fact, I know enough about what's going on now (as I damn well should) to put together a blurb... but I'm too tired to bother right now.

Five chapters to go (according to the plan)

Chapter One
Title: Come With Us by The Chemical Brothers
Focal characters: Eric and August
In lure of a potential supporter of their cause, August, Jai and Marie head to the famous Building #12. Meanwhile, an anxious competitor, Eric, is slowly but surely stalked by the Fectoprine.

Chapter Two
Title: If You Have An Enemy by Leafcutter John
Focal characters: Heath and Seth
Sebastian Wyre, a high-ranking enForcer, heads to the hotel Eric was staying in to investigate his mysterious disappearance. The fate of August is revealed, along with Seth's past encounter with the Fectoprine.

Chapter Three
Title: In All The Wrong Places by Ulrich Schnauss
Focal characters: Eric and Jai
After his disappearance from Prada Hotel, Eric heads to green hill in an attempt to distance himself from potential capture while Marie pursues him due to Victor's unusual desperation to have him join them. Jai attempts to outrun the Fectoprine after August's fall at Building #12.

For the sake of trivia, it should be noted that the first three chapters string together to make a sentence - Come with us if you have an enemy in all the wrong places.

Chapter Four
Title: Untitled
Focal characters: Marie and Heath
This chapter is to be revamped.

Chapter Five
Title: No Solitude for the Patient by Eight Frozen Modules
Focal characters: Eric and Jai
Eric finally arrives at the circle's "The Other Woman" and meets other calibre-bearers for the first time. Jai awakens in the much-feared complex, Pen Expers.

Chapter Six
Title: Pen Expers by Autechre
Focal characters: Jai
The rescue attempt begins with a semi-suicide mission to Pen Expers, while Jai is guided to some level of safety within the facilities by a mysterious accomplice, Demi.

Chapter Seven
Title: Who's Afraid Of... by Namco Sound Team (from Tekken 5)
Focal characters: None
Pen Expers lands in Photo after an unnatural flight, and The Other Woman winds up in Voteporix. The effects of the hitruix are thus revealed, and the sentique make an appearance for the first time.

Chapter Eight
Title: What You Waiting For? by Gwen Stefani
Focal characters: Victor and Yvonne
Victor's past is revealed, and the nature of Ruben Storm is explained while the circle transit from Photo back to Tirus to begin the first proper stage of their mission.

Chapter Nine
Title: You Are The Reason by capsule
Focal characters: None

Phase one of the plan goes underway - the infiltration of Dario FM begins.

Chapter Ten

Title: Between Us And Them by Ulrich Schnauss

Focal characters: August

Phase two of the plan, and Jai's sentique catches up with him while August discovers a potential strategy to deal with them.

Chapter 11 is also complete, being the second-longest chapter in the book so far. I have three days to complete Chapter 12, currently titled Silence Before The Storm. This will cover the group's encounter with the new Wade Valentine, better known by the crude nickname Treefingers. I dare say the story will be complete in sixteen chapters... which means I am almost on the home stretch, with the main characters fleshed out enough for me to go back and touch up their human-ness, and the intentions of the Circle now revealed.

In good time (most probably after Calibre is complete), I will probably be writing a short story about the character Vivian, who has only appeared in a few chapters (1, 4, 11). There is also a lot of potential for a short story - perhaps even a novella - of another calibre-bearer that has been mentioned a few times in Calibre but is never to be seen in the book. The significance of said character is omitted due to the spoil factor.

Anyway, today and tomorrow are going to be very busy if I'm going to meet my 3 chapters per month deadline, which is on the 15th. I'll update this accordingly.