It begins. A map can never be a territory, particularly when it comes to writing a book, but nonetheless you need to at least imagine where you think you might be going… and I’ve at least walked some parts of this landscape before, albeit hurriedly and without taking as much time to look around as I’d have liked. Or, to borrow instead from literary concepts: there’s a plot outline here that feels like it might work, but I’m prepared—perhaps even hopeful—for the characters to decide to go in different directions to the ones I currently think best of.

Lots of reading needed to fill the gaps, of course—and that’s what will provoke character rebellion, most likely. But I think I’ve at least bounded what I need to read to tell this story, and can start writing the bits I already have in my head while filling in the gaps.

A first step, long overdue.