I continue to make consistent progress on The Silent Goodbye. This is somewhat remarkable considering how much has been going on in my life of late but, if you can commit time and energy every day to writing, you can actually create some momentum.

The story continues to unfold according to my plan, with some interesting and unexpected twists arising during the process of writing. I always find it very exciting when, as I write a scene, the characters themselves start to take charge and direct the action. In this case, the scene I was writing involved Gold, his favourite cop and an attractive assassin sitting down to compare notes. Through the course of their conversation, an entirely new possibility for the story announced itself, an exciting interlude that will increase tension and create another opportunity for action.

I had not planned it to happen but suddenly the assassin started talking and out came this marvellous new idea. It was natural to the character, to the conversation and to the situation. So I went with it.

Of course, this new idea requires me now to go back and do a little bit of revision of the earlier parts of the scene but that's okay. And, as I do the rewrite, I have to do some hard thinking about how these three characters would put this particular plan into action.

That's the fun part of the job: the mental work of taking a good idea and making it work, for the characters and for the novel.

Tags: Phillip Gold, Writing, Novels, Mystery