novel progress report

As of today
:: outline is completed, with a beginning, a middle and an end - 14 chapters, introduction, development, climax, conclusion - I am refining the main characters' backstories.
:: research is ongoing - mostly completed for the important chunks (esp. the fascinating history of computerized reservation systems).
:: several pages of first chapter completed, working hard on the first pages. First impressions do matter.
:: first draft of a couple of key scenes (esp. the narrator's encounter with his love interest).