When I was writing the script for "Shades", Chapter 5 was one of the big turning points. As I've said elsewhere, Chapters 1 - 4 really did seem to write themselves. I knew which characters I wanted to introduce, I knew how I was going to introduce them and I knew where they were supposed to end up at the end of the book.

But at this point, I had a question to answer. How was I going to get those characters from where they were at the end of Chapter 4 to where they needed to be for the big finale at the end of Chapter 16?

Although I already had detailed notes on each of the characters and a broad outline of the overall story, it was at this point that I had to step back and start plotting each and every chapter in minute detail. If I didn't, there was a real danger the story might just wander and the characters could end up somewhere completely different from the various fates I had in store for them. Just for a moment it began to feel like work!