I have written a half dozen screenplays and learned that one way to handle the anxiety and fear of beginning a project is to lay out the structure then adapt it as I go along. So I did some simple preliminary research and tried to estimate a length for my novel. Taking Pride and Prejudice as a template I decided on a manuscript length of about 400 pages or approx 100,000 words which should leave me with a finished novel of about 275 - 300 pages. That is a respectable length.
I am still anxious about my prose; my screenwriting history has left me with an overly terse style. I think it may be too lean for a juicy novel read. I will have to focus on developing more depth and detail. I know I will always lean more towards Hemingway than Melville but even Hemingway's efficient prose had beautiful evocative imagery and intensely emotional passages. I must become intensely observant.
I wrote another page an a half of my outline - changed some character details.
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