By the end of the summer of '07, I had a great premise, a bunch of half-formed characters, a few more bits of plot, still no villain, and a new job as director of the Montevideo High School fall play. So that was it for writing.
Before I called it a day, I did jump online and print off a list of superpowers. I can't find that original list or site anymore, but there are dozens of similar lists out there in the googleverse. After making a spreadsheet of the novel's timeline, which is the month of May, I assigned each power I was interested in using to a date. I spread out the best and worst ones, coordinated certain powers with certain annual dates (fishing opener, Mother's Day, etc.), jotted a few notes about major plots events, and set the whole pile aside.
FYI: Still no villain. This was a problem. You can't write a NORMAL story without one, much less a superhero story.
In February, the new Iowa Summer Writing Festival booklet showed up. Sandra was offering a course entitled "Finishing Your First Novel." Perfect! I sign up and use the seminar as a deadline for finishing the first draft. Then I was hired to stage direct the spring musical. So that was it for writing.
I figured I could whip out the rest of the draft in June. Then my college roommates and I went to Maine for a week to celebrate a certain momentous birthday. So that was it for writing.
I didn't have much to offer in Iowa beyond what I'd left with the summer before, but the week was inspirational. Sandra and my classmates (above) were helpful, wise, and encouraging. I remember Sandra specifically saying, "You've got it. You just have to write it."
By the end of the summer of '08, heading into my second fall play, I had a full first draft.
And I had found my villain.
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