To be done – or not be done

The writing phase on my novel “Just A Touch” is complete… But…
The way I construct a story may be different from other authors, which is a bet I’m willing to take. The process of creation is a slippery slope - smoke on a windy day. And all of us who write approach the task with our imagination, quirks, and methods to inspire ourselves.
I am an architect by profession, and my writing process is similar to how I design buildings. It starts as an idea or concept, built up layer by layer. As I add another layer, I learn more about the plot, I gain deeper knowledge of my characters, and I can build their backstories. By the time I’m halfway through telling the story, I have an intimate relationship with each character, even those with bit parts.
During the last year, I’ve learned about interiority (a character’s thoughts, feelings, reactions, and inner struggles), and I paid more attention to building tension, atmosphere, and suspense. And, of course, I am reading when I’m not writing. I do, on occasion, thumb through my copy of Steven King's “On Writing” (which I have marked with highlighter). You can’t ignore greatness, especially when he lays it out in “plain” terms right on the page.
The inspiration for “Just A Touch” comes from an article I read while researching another story. The article was posted in the Guardian in June of 2019. It was the title that completely knocked me off my feet: “Narco Super Highway - The Drug Route You’ve Never Heard Of”.
The title piqued my interest, and some of the discoveries I made shook me to the core. I had just recently researched the islands of French Polynesia, and the analogy my brain concocted was similar to a group of peasants thrown into the Coliseum with blood-thirsty gladiators. I knew the outcome would not be good - and off I went.
My goal is to publish in February, but there is a lot more to do.