End-of-Volume Leave Notice

I spent the afternoon writing a detailed outline for Volume Seven, enough for about fifty chapters. The notes alone came to two or three thousand words. Then I had dinner with some author friends in the evening, and when I got home, I realized I had only worked out the main plot. The details were still lacking, making it really difficult to start writing.

I have a bit of an obsessive-compulsive streak about this. I can't write a chapter until I've thought everything through, and I often get stuck on a tiny detail for a long time. I have to consider everything carefully and know exactly what I'm doing before the writing will flow. I don't know whether that's a good habit or a bad one.

Taking leave today was completely unexpected. I've used my fourth leave note this month, and just like that, 100,000 points have slipped away from me. Actually, I'm more unwilling than anyone to take leave. So depressing...

Let me think it over for one more day. I'll update tomorrow. Sorry, sorry!