After visiting Carcavelos earlier this month, I've been able to make good progress with my book. The first chapter is set there, and I didn't want to start writing it without having seen Carcavelos first hand. I'm quite pleased with how chapter one is turning out - my field visit was definitely worthwhile. I've also got over writing the very first line:

Hardly literature's finest moment, and I may well rewrite it once the first draft is completed but for now, it sets the tone nicely and is sufficiently intriguing, I hope. Generally, progress is still quite slow - it's taking more than two weeks to write a single chapter - but I'm enjoying it, and feel like it's going reasonably well.

Also, the sub-plot that I mentioned in part 11 has developed into something more interesting than a one night stand. It had the potential to provide quite an intriguing storyline, but will also need careful planning. If it's going to work properly, I will need to ensure it unfolds realistically alongside the main plot, which might require some fairly detailed restructuring. So, once I've finished writing my current chapter, I'm going to revisit my wall of post-its to make sure everything works.