I've nearly finished the final chapter of part one of my novel, which feels like a milestone - and a good opportunity to change my approach. While I still need to write chapters 3, 6 and 10, they all require a certain degree of research, involving a trip to Jerez. Not the hardest assignment to set yourself. Anyway, rather that write an uninformed first draft for the sake of being completist, I've decided to review everything I've written so far.

That's an exciting but scary prospect. Having written the existing draft very gradually since the beginning of the year, I am worried that there will be problems with continuity and consistency. So my major concern is that I will read everything I've written and decide it's rubbish, thereby losing the impetus to stick with it.

In fact, when I started this book, I pledged not to read my work until the whole book was finished. But hopefully I will find enough that I think is alright to actually redouble my determination. Besides, I need to review how everything is fitting together now, because the second half still needs to have a sub-plot weaved in. Plus I've stumbled upon the chance for a neat little mini-twist concerning the protagonist's father, which I think could be a nice little reveal.

My plan is therefore to read and edit everything I've got so far, then revise the plot for the second half in time to start writing it after Christmas. That way, it should be completely written by the end of 2017.