Writing Wednesday - Back to the Start

I have been working on Sanctuary on and off now for a couple of years. And I am just tired of thinking about it. Which makes it hard to get motivated to write on that story. So I decided I would go back to the 'beginning' and pulled out a story I had started about 35 years ago.

I pulled out the handwritten pages I had on it. And then printed out the bits and pieces I had typed over the years. It, too, had been an on-again-off-again project and one of the first NaNoWriMo pieces I worked on.

Luckily, and I was very pleased, the story itself is just as fresh and workable as it was years ago. However, in pulling everything together and starting to write a detailed outline (which I work better from) I was confused. 

There are three women who are involved in the story. Originally, I thought I would make it a trilogy, which is now thought number two - trilogy or one big book? However, the immediate issue was the story arc for one of the characters. I knew female #2 had something to surmount and had that story in mind. Female #3 was a bit more difficult and really didn't have her obstacle to overcome, but was working on it. However, #1 was the surprise. 

I knew in the back of my mind (memory) I had a fuller story for her. But nothing in my notes hinted at what it was. Not until I started rereading what I had written did I remember what her obstacle was. Huzzah!

So now, I have it set up with a timeline for the 3 women. And am creating a character list as I reread what is written so far. But the question of three shorter books or one large book still lingers. For now, I think I will write it, aiming for one book. If it becomes too big, I'll then go back and separate out the stories.

A secondary idea is to present 'teasers' or snippets of the book weekly to show I am progressing in the story - at least to myself. 

But writing has commenced!