Daily Progress Report

HOC: 363

Daily Goal: Not Met

I had all these grand plans of writing my butt off today.  But I slept until almost 11 (I haven’t been sleeping well all week, so I needed it), and then I just never could really get going.  I hit the grocery, cleaned the house, and got several things I’ve been putting off finished, so it was a productive day on that front.  I’m still disappointed with my productivity.  Pot suggested I do some reading–even if just a few chapters.  So I dipped back into Practical Homicide Investigation.  I think what I will wind up doing is a specialized section of the novel notebook for crime scenes and investigations based on what I learn from Geberth’s book.  It’s referred to as the “murder bible” in the field of actual homicide investigation, so it’s a fabulous (if graphic–real homicide photos) reference.  I think it will be a very useful tool to have as part of the novel notebook–so that when I have a murder or crime in one of my stories, I can work out all the important details on the front end and figure out how to best reveal them in the story rather than figuring it out as I go (which is part of what’s given me difficulty this go round).  This has been a big challenge with this story as I’ve never really had to deal with crime scenes as a professional (as in in the character’s head) before.  I’m sure there are loads of procedural things I’ll have to fix in this book.  And that’s part of why I’m starting to drag with the investigation portions.  I either need to red line them and focus on the rest or take the time to properly research before going on much further.  I think I may go to bed early tonight and get up in time to maybe write a little in the morning.