The Path to Deliverable One

With a week and a half left until deliverable 2 is due, I'm expected to finish the first act, composed of the first five chapters. I'm current with my goal so far. I finished chapter 1 last weekend and finished chapter 2 today. With any luck, I'll have chapter 3 done by the end of this weekend, chapter 4 done by the end of next week, and chapter 5 finished by the end of next weekend. That way, I can edit on Monday and I'll be ready to turn it in Tuesday. 

After that, I intend to write at least one, if not two, chapters over winter break. I'll also need to get a little ahead on act 3 while working on act 2 because act 3 is longer than all the others and the time for act 2 is longer than the time for the others.

Okay, enough boring talk. I said I'd give out some tips and so I will. One thing that I learned this week is that  there is no time where you will not need research. This is especially true of historical fiction writing, but it can apply to any genre. I cannot describe how many times I was writing and I realized I didn't know the exact circumstances of a Hello Girl's application or the clothing style of a typical woman in the WWI era. Many authors will tell you to turn off all internet distractions when you're writing, and that's fine if you have other resources that you can turn to or if you're an expert in your field. However, for the vast majority of young or aspiring authors, the encyclopedias are not only semi-foreign but also insufficient. So when you're writing, you can't rely solely on your personal knowledge. You need to have access to research. And if you're concerned about your inattentiveness or distractibility when in contact with the Internet, leaving the Internet available while you write will be a perfect way to expand your self-control. And trust me, you will need it.