Wow. I just figured out that since my last post on July 17, there were only four days that I didn’t write. On the days when I did write, I worked for two hours or more as I continue creating the story of Kelly Lynch and the impact her friend, Shannon O’Shea, had on her life.

The novel’s title is now official. It is called CHAPTER ONE.

The format of CHAPTER ONE is as follows:

• Chapter One: Prologue

• Part 1: Chapters 2-4

• Part 2: Chapters 5-7

• Part 3: Chapters 8-10

• Epilogue

I am very pleased to announce that I am now finished through Chapter 6. My goal is to finish writing Chapter 7 next week, then leave writing Part 3 for after I return from Dublin (Chapters 8 and 9 are set in Dublin).

One year ago, Kelly was only a nameless idea. Now that she’s her own entity with her own voice, I’ll be looking at Dublin locations through her eyes, not mine, when I venture there in ten days.

CHAPTER ONE has a few recurring themes, one of them being the idea of escaping versus living. This completely unintentional theme developed on its own through Kelly’s reaction to events that shaped her life. She’s still not aware of the importance of this lesson, however, but she will be by novel’s end.

At times, Kelly’s story has gone in completely different directions than what I initially envisioned, developing its own timeline and themes instead of keeping to its original script in my head. And that’s been exciting. Even today, when I finished Chapter 6, I had to go back and revise Chapter 1 because of a turn the story made on its own.

The plot board I created that I wrote about in my last post sits there, initially useful in guiding the story, yet  now a relic of the past. As Kelly’s story moves forward, the plot board will remain a treasured souvenir of my writing process and of this summer.

I’m falling in love with Kelly Lynch. When CHAPTER ONE is finished, I hope that someday you’ll have the chance to fall in love with her, too.

Thank you for following my journey!

Jill