More to Life Than Just Death

Well, I'm back to working on my vampire novel, Cold Blooded, apparently. Sort of. It's mostly like backstory stuff, that will then have an impact on the main plot. Namely, I've written a little Wikipedia-style article about a fictional punk band, as well as working on some songs of said band. 

Am I going to actually need this in the novel? I don't know. Maybe. I have… some thoughts. But if nothing else, it's helping to develop the protagonist's history. And it's easier than figuring out the plot. 

Because, yes, my plot still has holes in it. 

This is what I have thus far:

Blurred to protect… someone. Me, mostly

As you can see, through the haze, there are some gaps in there. And I think I've taken a long enough break from it. I need to just stare at it and figure out what happens. 

The problem is this: I have all the "big" plot points on there. I just need all the junk that goes in between, to get us from one plot point to another. 

The solution might be, instead of thinking about the in-between bits as small stuff, I need some more big stuff. Important events that keep the action going. It's not just filler, after all. Just because it's not murder and dead bodies doesn't mean it's not important. There is more to life than just death. Ooh, that's a pretty good line. 

Anyway.

Looking at the board, it looks like I need different types of scenes in some places. Like, most of the Act One scenes are variations on a theme, which I know is because I'm trying to introduce characters and things, but it does look pretty monotonous. 

And I need to figure out what the antagonist is doing while not actively… antagonizing. 

This is usually the point where I look helplessly at all the work I need to do, and set it aside for another few months. We'll see what happens this time. 

I'll see you next time.