Another question - feel free not to answer it - but how many chapters do you plan to write? While I'll obviously be devastated if it ends, it'd be interesting to know where Joe and co. are placed in the entire scheme of the story.I've been meaning to mention something about that. My best guess is that we're at about the halfway point. Whether that means 40 percent finished or 60 percent finished, I can't say for sure. I tend to lean more toward the lower number.
From about the fifth chapter I've had a strong idea for how the story plays out and what happens to everybody, but as I write, I come up with new characters and situations, so it continues to draw out. And while I don't expect anything to come along to change my thinking about the overall plot, I can't say for sure. My understanding of the characters and their relationships changes as I write.
It also might be helpful to state that this story doesn't end at graduation. That's not a spoiler. If this were a book you could pick up around the corner, that would be clear on the jacket description. It seemed fair to mention it now, because I don't want anyone to have the impression that if certain plot lines seem like they're in full force as graduation approaches, we're suddenly going to reach the conclusion. It's going to play out in due course.
All that being said -- who knows? Initially, I would have guessed that the story would run about 20 chapters. Maybe this will be 500 chapters long and I'll be writing it into my eighties. I obviously don't expect that to happen, but this format gives me a lot of freedom. Thanks for indulging me.
