This morning marks the official completion of my Act 2 outline for Hunted in Shadow. I’m now in the final stretch of plotting with nothing but Act 3 left to finish. And, of course, the scene questionnaire for each scene I’ve mapped out. But one thing at a time, right? There are still a few holes. Things like “Trial 1: Intellect of a quality befitting a leader”, the substance of which I am still totally clueless about. But the general shape is there. 
I’ve never known pretty much everything that happens in the middle before. That’s why it’s the Dreaded Valley of the Shadow of the Middle–the long stretch of plotland that is so often as dry and barren as an African desert. I tell you, there are definite positives to plotting. I may wind up changing everything once I get into the writing, but I feel pretty good having a roadmap of the whole plot before beginning. Geez, never thought I’d say that. But I think I’ve done enough directionless writing to last me for quite some time. My last attempt was such a monumental fail that I may have gotten it out of my system for good. We shall see.
My mom’s having minor knee surgery this week, so I’ll be tied up playing nurse for a few days, between which I’m in a wedding elsewhere in the state (gonna be busy), so I don’t know if I’ll get all those scene questionnaires finished. Probably not. While I’m plunked down in the hospital waiting room, I’ll be finishing up writing a test for my abnormal psych class. But I can keep plugging away on the questionnaires after I start the writing on money. I just require that the outline be finished.
I had the crazy dream that inspired this book on November 10th and I began actively working on worldbuilding and character interviews and plotting about a month later. So it has taken me approximately two and a half months to go from the nutty dream to a fully plotted story concept, complete with full cast, character interviews, and solidly worked out GMC for everyone. When I get started on the actual writing, I’m going to begin slowly with a daily goal of 500 words. With my current schedule, I just don’t know how that’s going to work for me, but 500 feels managable. At that rate, I should have a rough draft done in 6-7 months. I will be very interested to see if the uber plotting cuts down on all the wasted time and tangental writing I have been so prone to in the past. It will be exciting to find out.