Long time no post...

Not as long as most times, just forgot to write in the last week or so [my mind's been preoccupied].

Anywho...January is over. It was slightly productive, but not as productive as hoped. Still here's what I've done:
1. Read 3 books
2. Writing prompts [not as frequently as hoped]
3. Collected inspirational images
4. Wrote an incredibly long list of "what ifs" (for alternate plot ideas)
5. Came up with a few alternate plots


And I've learned a few things about my story...

Based on the original myth...the beginning of the myth (long before they flee the labyrinth)...Icarus' death is due to Daedalus' choices.
He was responsible for the Minotaur's existence, the labyrinth being built, the reason they were trapped inside and the method of escape. While my story is a more modern version, these facts hold true as well. The past plays a huge role and my MC will quickly learn how her father's actions deeply affected her life (at least by the end of the series).

The labyrinth and the Minotaur are as essential to this story as Icarus' fall
The more I think about it, I just don't think it will be a story based on the myths anymore if I dump those two factors. Not that I was going to, but for a little while I wondered if the first story needed to involve a labyrinth at all. But without it, the story seemed pretty paltry. So yeah...those motifs/elements not going anywhere.

I really need to define my villain, even if he/she is not in the first book.
Yeah...that good ol' villain wall again. I hit it. The first draft of my novel truly avoids the finer details of my antagonist and their motivations and I think it's pretty obvious (although I haven't read my novel in a month...so maybe not). So I need to figure out my villains, subvillains, bosses, etc. Otherwise, I'll end up BSing during the re-write, which is not good.

I need to define my world.
I was supposed to do this during January, but it was hard when I wasn't sure where the story was going. World building can sometimes be a "chicken or the egg" scenario as your world can define your characters, but your characters can also define your world. So I put it off until now and I finally think I'm ready.


So yeah...that's all for now. Back to planning.