And so here it is: the first writing update.

I could troll you all and make this update one sentence long: there’s not really much to update you on. But that would leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, I think. I mean, I’ve been saying for weeks now that writing updates would be one of the main staples of this site. To just throw my hands in the air and not deliver anything substantial on the very first update? What kind of a precedent would that set?

And yet…well, there really isn’t much to update. Progress on The 2^nd Realm – book one in what I’m currently calling the Procurers Trilogy – has been frustratingly slow. This is mostly because I’ve been having a lot of trouble sorting out the middle. The beginning and the ending for this book were always clear in my mind: I like the setup, I believe in it, and I think, given a lot of editing and polishing, it’ll make for a compelling story. And I’ve always known where I’m going with this book. Pretty much right from when I decided this would be a trilogy rather than one stand-alone book, I’ve had clear endings for all three in mind.

But piecing it all together in a way that makes sense and keeps the flow of the plot going…man, it’s been tough. That connective tissue between “beginning” and “ending” just hasn’t been coming together.

I think part of the problem has been my innate perfectionism. Part of me wants to be writing stuff on par with A Song of Ice and Fire right here and now. And I find it hard to motivate myself to write something I know is bad. And yet…in the case of The 2^nd Realm, I think it might be necessary. Having been stuck in the morass of the middle as long as I have, I think the solution might just be to write something – anything – down on the page, and then step away from it for a while. Maybe when I’m getting ready to edit and I read the manuscript again, I’ll have some fresh ideas for how to improve it. For now, I just need to sit down and get the thing done.

Apart from The 2^nd Realm, work on other projects has been sporadic. I started the new Nightmares Inc. ending: finishing that before my Christmas break seems more and more unlikely with each passing day. I really should get on that: after all, once Nightmares Inc. is presentable, I think it might have the best chance at being my first actual published novel (though if that’s the case, I’ll then have to make its sequels a priority, which…yeah, I still have no idea what’s going on with the Nightmares Inc. sequels. So that’ll be fun).

I have a couple short stories in the pipe, too, as well as maybe a novella. With those projects, it’s “they’ll get done when they get done.” They’re not super high on the priority list. (Although I really like those ideas, too! Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing them!) They probably won’t win any awards or anything, but I think they’re at least as good as Join, if not better, so hopefully I can find them a home once they’re written and polished.

Oh, and speaking of that, I got a few more rejections for the short stories I’ve been sending off. Meh. It is what it is. I’m mostly just impressed at how quickly some of them have gotten back to me. One publication responded to me in three days! In a world where you sometimes have to wait three months for a reply, three days is lightning-fast. Of course, that does mean their first slush reader immediately slam-dunked my story into the reject pile, but, well…at this point, anything more than that is a pleasant surprise for me.

Anyway, I think that’s all I’ve got for this week. I’ll be back next week with another update. Until then, be well, stay safe, and keep reading!