Cast of Thousands

How have I ended up with so many characters? The first part of the book (as it can almost be split in two) has mainly two characters, with a few others that are ‘seen but not heard’, almost. Yet the second part has five main characters, and all of them seem to spring dependent people of their own, so I am now struggling to keep up to date with all of them. Agh – the key is to limit the people – it is like building a collage, the best pictures are those with a limited palette. Sadly I cannot see how to chop any characters away, in my mind it all seems natural for them to be there. Hmm, maybe it is because I have just written a very busy chapter.

I decided to draw a line under chapter 18 – I might have to go back and expand upon it though, as not totally happy with the ending. It is probably the one I am least satisfied with, which makes me worry all sorts of ‘perhaps I’ve lost it!’ type thoughts as it is the newest thing I have written. I also dislike starting a new chapter when the old one still seems hanging in the air. What I need is… hmm. I almost need a way to see the whole thing at once… *eyes up the wall*.

See, if this was the sort of rented flat that thumbed its nose at three month inspections then I could hijack that wall right there (points) and pin notes all over it, showing me how everything links. (This is no doubt precisely the reason why three month inspections happen. As it is, they inspect the walls for new nail marks - I can imagine blue tack stains would go down a treat.)

Or... if I had a place of my own, like a garage, or a shed, then I could paint a wall white and scribble directly onto it with arrows showing what is all happening. I then could simply paint over it when the book is done, and start again! Voila! Ooo I like that idea. Shame I am currently missing a garage, shed and indeed, wall, to make it viable. I might have to resort to the whiteboard, but that is already covered in notes and useful things, like what year every chapter is set in - very important to know, that! Hmm, okay, let’s downsize… ah, a sheet of A0 would do it, only I left all my art paper and materials at my mum’s. A4 just won’t cut it, unless I do tiny writing. Hmm, or I could get sellotape and stick lots of A4 printer paper together to make A0... and then possibly I could waste even more time by not writing. Ah-ha... I'm onto you, subconscious...