Writing:

I didn’t do a lot of work on BLOOD OF SALT, TEARS OF PEARL in August, between kiddo being out of school and husband on vacation (and the endless hours of video games we all played together), but I did finish revising a scene that’s been the most difficult to nail down since I first started the book four years ago. Otherwise, I worked a lot on D&D this month, building out enough encounters and NPCs to last at least another month’s worth of sessions.

Word Counts in August:

Blog/Newsletter: 826
Cartridges & Catacombs:2,030
D&D: 10,770 (!!!)
BLOOD OF SALT, TEARS OF PEARL: ~2,750 (Finished revising 4.1)

Total Words Written in August: 16,376
Total Words Written in 2021: 55,112

Plans for September:

(and beyond)

I want to start working more on BLOOD OF SALT, TEARS OF PEARL and aim to finish revising/rewriting at least two scenes per week. At that rate, I should finish Part 1 (Ch 1-6) of the novel by the end of the month. Then I can move on to Part 2 in October. I think Part 3 will probably take me both November and December to complete, maybe even January as well, as it’s the section of the book that will require the most editing. If all goes well, and I don’t run into any huge roadblocks (or COVID lockdowns requiring school-at-home), I may actually be able to finish the second draft of the book by the end of March.

Sometimes, it feels like editing this draft will never end. I finished the first draft back in March 2020, and then COVID happened and the presidential election and my brain couldn’t cope with all the stress. After a few false starts with the second draft in January and March, I managed to dedicate myself to revisions again in May of this year, all while being bombarded with health issues that led to gallbladder surgery, and then recovery, which finally resolved in mid-July.

It’s been a wild year and a half.