The outline is staring at me reproachfully from the printer. Last night, I got it in order, printed it out, all set to go through it. Today it is gathering dust while I ignore it.

My hope is that I can read the outline (thank you, Scrivener, for your nifty outlining tool and keeping me honest), see if it 1) makes sense; 2) is hella boring; 3) where do the A plot and B plot need to be entwined; and 4) what vital bits do I need to add in that I've missed, then 5) what should I think about cutting out entirely. Which will leave me with 6) hooking the front end of the damn book together with the rest of the back end which is already (mostly) written in beta draft form.

At that point, I think I'll have about 180,000 words. By the time I get through 1-4, I hope to get up to 200,000. Then I can start cutting it back down.

The way I figure it, most of the words are utter crap. I have to describe every little tiny detail of everything to see it. Then, taking pity on the reader, I go back and take out what no one but me needs to know. To borrow from a conversation I had with scarlettina , if there's a drawer of silverware in the room, I have to describe the drawer, and describe the silver in it so that I know if it's Georgian silverware or Edwardian silverware.  Even if the silverware never hits the table.  Then I go back and cut it out.  But I can't write the rest of the scene up front until lI know what that darn silverware is, because it makes a difference to who the characters are and what they might do.

I wish I could forget the silverware. I'd write faster, smoother, fewer words for sure. I can't stand not knowing about the forks though.  And if they own a salad server.

So I'm almost at beta draft.

We are just about packed. Thanks to scarlettina 's awesome valvoline book, I did not forget my own epilepsy meds, which i came perilously close to forgetting to pack. iPods are charged and packed. Cell phone is charging. Laptop will get packed tomorrow. I'll pick out books tonight. Knitting has been started, something simple.

Mark has had his first medicinal shower. No more eating or drinking after midnight. I feel like we're forgetting something, and maybe we are. If so, we can get it somewhere, somehow.

Contact will be sketchy.  No cell phone/wifi activity in ICU, and I anticipate spending my time there.  I'll run out to let people know how Mark's doing.

And there it is.  I anticipate surgery will be over around 2:00 ish.

See you all on the other side (except for those of you I'll be seeing tomorrow in the hospital).