This morning I was looking at the [Indigo Romeo lima] file, sitting there at almost 82K, wondering where the hell this story is going. 🙂
That’s a normal state of affairs for me.
I never really know how something is going to play out.
Won’t really tell you too much about it because I don’t want to – not because I can’t. I 100% can tell you exactly what’s been happening but I don’t talk about my WIP. It’s basically fight club.
Late yesterday I started filling in the blanks for the backwards chapter outline. Got to chapter 13. (I’ll do some more today.) Then I decided I’d read the story on my iPad last night. Got to chapter 17. Quite enjoying it. So there you go. I did notice just how many of my characters are telling lies or not telling everything they know. I find that fascinating. I only know they’re lies because I’m writing it, and I know what they did or didn’t do although sometimes even I don’t know if what they’re saying is true or not. Also I’m writing chapter 47 so some of the lies have surfaced.
Anywho, I’m enjoying the process. I did need to skip from (maybe) half of chapter 46 to the next chapter because my memory of a certain place is patchy. I have requested the floor plans of the place and will view them on Wednesday at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellie. Some parts of the place are firmly in my brain but not the actual part I think was used by someone in this story. I cannot remember how to get to that place. That’ll be fun. 🙂 🙂 The plans are not allowed to be copied so I’ll have to write comprehensive notes.
So that’s where I am in the writing process when it comes to [IRL]. Should be on track to a complete first draft by Sept 20. (Fingers crossed.)
Cat Connor 
I love hearing about the way authors do what they do! The process really does vary, and I don’t think there’s just one way to get through it, anyway. I have to admit, I don’t go back and forth the way you do, but I know what you mean about doing scenes. In a couple of my books, I started with a scene I imagined, and wrote the story around that scene. And those scenes weren’t even the first scenes in the stories!
I’ve seen a scene that I thought was the beginning only to find it was the middle. 🙂 Makes it interesting!
Not sure I used to go back and forth so much, maybe I trust my brain less these days!