Sailing Venus revisited

The last time I did any writing on my theoretical novel Sailing Venus was in 2014, right around the time of ArmadilloCon. The last time I even mentioned it here was 2015, in my ApolloCon write-up. The first time I ever mentioned it here was way back in 2005. Clearly, I'm not the most hop-to-it of writers. I actually began work on the novel back during the 2013 NaNoWriMo, and that experience taught me two things--first off, I'm terrible at the whole NaNoWriMo thing. Second off, I'm not a writer who can work on multiple projects simultaneously. Back then--and pretty much ever since--my writing life had been consumed by Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch. Well, that book's been published for five months now, and at various signings I find people asking me what my next book will be. I answer Sailing Venus, although I add the caveat that I haven't done much work on it recently.

That, hopefully, is no longer the case. The past few weeks I've been noodling with some plot points and coming up with new elements that enhance the story structure I already have outlined. I've read up on background material--both fiction and non--and finally took the leap of faith by reading the chapters I'd previously completed. Folks, there's a lot there that's cringe-worthy. But there's a lot that isn't. There are even significant passages and scenes I have no memory of ever writing. That's an odd feeling, reading one's own words with no idea what happens next. I took up the red pen and marked up the manuscript printout. For the past two days, I've been rewriting. Not a lot, but enough to count as a true restart. The second draft of chapter 1 is complete, and I'm diving into chapter 2. I'm not certain what kind of pace I'll be able to keep up, but my goal is to have a completed manuscript by the time World Fantasy rolls around next October in San Antonio. That's a goal I've set for myself before and missed badly, but I'm betting I can turn the trick this time.

Also, Google Venus is a thing. Why am I only now just learning of it?

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