Not a lot to report today.  I just feel lazy tonight.  I get a con survey requesting panels to pick, so I work on that.  I’ll be appearing at Chessiecon virtually on Thanksgiving weekend.  If you want to attend, the con is free.

Onto the pantsing tip:

As I’ve learned more about my writing process and the craft, my physical process of writing has gotten far less messy. I used to think of it as throwing paint at the wall to see what sticks—very frustrating! I’d rearrange chapters, shuffling them like cards, trying to get the order that felt right to me.  I’d go down a rabbit hole, hit a dead end, and have to dump—at its worst—10 chapters.  It’s hard to believe what I did in those days has changed so much.

But I still have one habit, partially ingrained by work habits.

If I do a major deletion, like a scene or a chapter, the first thing I do is resave the story as a new version.  Hurts nothing, and if I need to grab anything later, it’s there. 

Unlike some people I’ve worked with over the years who save every single version of every single thing, I dump the old versions when they start becoming a distraction.