Near the end of the outline

The outline for Dancer, which is based on an older version of the novel, should not have been a problem to write out. I knew the story I wanted, for the most part. I just didn't like the writing itself, and rather than try to edit something this old, I've found it's better to rewrite from scratch. I can do that one of two ways:

1. Sit with the original beside me, read a page, and then start typing.

2. Write an extensive outline based on the original and just start from scratch that way.

I like the second way best. It keeps me from copying old phrases that just happen to stick in my head. I can jot down any great lines in the outline and keep them, but rest of it stays out of the story.

So, it shouldn't have been difficult to do this outline. Except that as I outlined, I found that there were parts of the story that I just didn't like that well, either. So good to work on them and outline a better story....

I'm down to the last sections, and I realized that the orginal went on far longer after the climax than it should have. I'm going to cut an entire long scene that I realize is unnecessary and really kind of boring -- we covered all this at the climax of the battle, and really don't need to go over it again.

So that means I'm closer to the end of the outline than I thought. But... does that mean the novel will not be long enough in the rewrite?

I have about 300 entires in the outline. If I write about 300 words for each of those entries, I'll have a 90k novel. Okay, that's not too bad. On the other hand, I have about 40 chapters. If I write at least 2500 words per chapter, I'll have 100,000 words.

Either of those are doable.

So, I need only get through this battle and write up the little denouement , and I will have this outline ready for 2005. After that I have only the outline for Serendipity Blues to finish, and the dreaded novel, Written in the Sand.

Okay, time to get Dancer done. That will at least make me feel like I've made progress again!