researching and planning

I've been working on index cards. The idea is simple: on each card, you write about a scene or a character. For scenes, I'm listing something simple such as, "Carrie meets Ruth @ Ruth's home/office". I don't have all of the scenes organized, but I've got a solid start.

With characters, I'm listing their names, DOB, and any background info I have to know but that may or may not come up in the novel. Example: where did they go to school, what is important from their childhood, what is their goal/motivations in the novel.

What I'm doing now is picking a few scenes and writing them as I get time. Right now I have more than enough to write, but as I come up with ideas for other scenes, I jot them on a card and quickly get back to writing. Still, the writing is going ever so slowly, but I'll get there eventually. The important part is that I keep moving.

It's all about the baby steps. At least that's progress.