Mid-season swings...

'Tis the season for climate changes, and the requisite health swings. My wife and I have both been fighting off some wonderful symptoms for the better part of the past two days (sinus drainage, scratchy throat, and just general blah feelings). And today is only Wednesday, with little chance for extended rest until this weekend. Now that that little bit of information is covered, on to the fun stuff...

I practiced a little more bass last night, and did some constructive work around the house (did the dishes, finished cooking dinner so my wife could rest & recover, put the leftovers away, fed the animals) and ended up relaxing in my office, burning some cds. With foul weather outside, it was a relatively quiet evening.

I have put a hold on some of the "writing at work" lately... not really intentionally, though. I've gotten quite a bit of the basic story planned for the novel, and am franly a little concerned over the development (in a good way - currently at around four pages for an outline, and still haven't reached where I see as the end of the first installment yet!), but I think I may have enough for a significant start in the planning for NaNoWriMo.
That's also grounds for another question - to outline, or not. Well, I have never really (seriously) focused on writing a book, so the question is a very good one. Each writer will ultimately give the pat (and correct) answer of, "It depends on the writer." I think an idea can be developed pretty quickly, but for there to be a focus and consistency in the development, there should be some form of outline. Even though it may not be written down, I firmly believe there is a conceptual outline that the author is considering. Writing the outline down makes it easier to pick out scenes to develop (complete with key notes of special events), instead of accidentally introducing something at the wrong time, or mentioning things out of sequence.
I haven't tried it before, so I figure I'll attempt if for a little while to see how things work out. Of course, the outlines are the easy part... fleshing them out and breathing full life to those visions is the more delicate art...