I have changed my vision for both the main female character and the villain, and I wanted to go back and make what I’ve written so far fit that vision.

The alternative is writing notes to myself and going back to the beginning and revising when I get to the second draft. I’ve done that before on previous novels. It’s a slog. This way seems more fresh and lively.

What I’m doing is dangerous. I could end up revising and revising and never adding new material. But I’m making up my writing technique as I go (as well as making up the writing itself, of course).

Someone on Twitter asked me today about my creative writing technique, whether I write major scenes first or write in order. I said this time around I did a 3,000-word outline and from that I’m writing scenes in order.

On previous novels I wrote without an outline. I just wrote scenes in order. But that was like pulling teeth.

I’m trying to get to the point where creative writing is just something I do every day, with no drama. Like BRUSHING teeth, rather than pulling them.