Progress

I managed to add 2k to the draft this past week despite not writing most days. It’s now over 104k, nearly 105k.

I honestly am not sure how close to the end I am as I haven’t quite decided which of the two possible stop points I will be going with. I either have one more major event to include, which would mean another 20k or so, or I’ve already written the last major event and have a few thousand to wrap up.

I am leaning toward closing it out after the next major event, but I’ll be sitting with it this week to see how I feel.

Here’s a snippet from this week’s work:

Lonan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “That’s not really how it works, it has to do with the link which he definitely doesn’t have with the entire city.” He shook his head. “But it doesn’t really matter why, if you think he will fight, mount and fight. It may be our only chance.”

Aaron looked to Cyrus.

“We could lose civilians.” He cautioned, though his tone sounded half-hearted.

“How close is he?” Halvar asked.

Aaron felt the link. “Close. I think he’s circling; waiting.”

“Go.” Cyrus said.

Update

Writing has been really slow lately. A combination of poor planning and illness has taken me out for a significant time span. I am always optimistic that I will be able to pick it up, but we’ll see.

I do have this draft over 102k now. I have ideas for the second book pulling together as the ending to this one comes together as well.

I am more having an issue of uninterrupted writing time rather than ideas and inspiration.

Considering moving to a google docs system so I am not stuck with my laptop to write, but can switch between my laptop and my phone. My current, laptop only system isn’t going well at the moment.

Anyway, here is a little snippet:

Could that really be what she wanted?

He reached for her and she stepped closer with determination in her warm grey eyes. “Please.”

Aaron melted, wrapping her in his arms and resting his head against hers. He held her and tried to form his thoughts into something that would reassure her, but didn’t reveal the full truth he wasn’t permitted to share.

Happy New Year!

Hello again!

I have had a very strange, but fruitful past few weeks. I spent a month serving on Jury Duty which was a rather wild experience. Very pleased I got to do it, though it felt like I had two jobs for a month and my babies are very excited that I am not gone most of the week now.

I took some time to focus on my faith and drawing near to God and that has done wonders for my creativity. I believe this is a gift He gave me and I aim to honor Him with it, so it makes sense to me that I am having a much easier time getting the ending of The Shadow of Vale together.

The draft is now over 100k and I am in the build up to the ending. There are two points that I think work as stopping points for the story, I am leaning toward one more than the other, but I will see how it feels when I get there.

I found a point of tension that helps build to the end of the first book and lay the foundation for the next book and I am quite pleased with how it’s working out. A little surprised I didn’t see it before, it’s been laid into the story almost from the beginning. Almost like I meant to use it haha!

Here is a little snippet:

“Playing with this much water actually sounds really fun.” She grinned and reached out to link the life point. She was immediately aware of the water and gave it a tug as she released Zuriel’s hand and sprinted toward the cliffs.

“Aila? Aila!”

Aila jumped off the edge and savored the brief feeling of weightlessness before gravity fully took hold and she dropped toward the water that rose to catch her. With a laugh she took a few steps to slow herself before turning around to face Zuriel who stood on the edge looking worried. She pressed her hand to her mouth at the sight of Pyre fidgeting behind him as if he had been preparing to dive after her.

I’m Alive

So I have not been able to write this past week, I got less than 1k in since my last update and that is because I have been selected to serve on a jury trial. I suddenly have a temporary full-time job and the adjustment hasn’t left room for much of anything aside from caring for my children and working and going to court.

It’s a three week trial, so there is a good chance I won’t even have time to adjust to the new schedule to get any writing done, but I still plan to chip away at it.

That said, I probably won’t have much to update on for the remainder of the year so I plan to check back in in the new year.

I pray you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

-Michelle

Quick Weekly Update

I didn’t get much writing in this week. There was a small gap between the outline I made and where the draft left off and I managed to work through that this week and today got in just about 1k bringing the draft up to about 93,500 words. About 2k short of my goal, but it wasn’t nothing, so I’ll take it.

Hopefully, now that I’m into the part I have a decent outline for, I will move a little quicker through it, getting down 1k in 30 mins every so often like I did today. But we’ll see.

Here’s a little snippet:

“Me?” Aaron squeaked, voice cracking as he took a step back. “I can’t…I’m not…I’m…” “You are a symbol.” Hadrian spoke from Fintan’s side near Lonan. “And you aren’t alone. You don’t need to have everything figured out, you just need to step out there. The men will follow you. They will fight for you. You’ve got to trust us.”

Quick update

Last week didn’t go well.

I had a couple good writing days and then I got taken out by a migraine and I haven’t had a day to sit and write since.

However, I did sit down tonight and wrote out a rough outline of what I am doing with the story to the end of this book and I am very excited about that. I am thinking it will be fairly quick to get the ideas more refined and on the page so I can start doing revisions and maybe actually have some alpha readers (never made it that far before.)

I am very excited even if I only added about 1k to the draft since my last check in.

A little snippet:

The low burn of anxiety that had been with him since [redacted] had explained his plan to bring down the wards for Azazel’s men flashed over into panic.

He’d trusted the wrong person.

So far, so good

While I didn’t hit my goal for the week (91k) I came real close bringing the draft over 90k.

There were a few days where life just got in the way.

I may still be able to get the other 1k in later today, but probably not.

All the same, I am happy with the increased progress this week.

A snippet:

Aila isn’t up yet. Halvar sent.

Tell her I will join her for lunch. Aaron sent back. He wanted to spend the rest of his life cuddled up in a warm bed with her as if nothing was wrong in the world, but reality was reasserting itself.

Death was coming for him.

Good week

I recently made some adjustments to my priorities and habits and the result has been a very good writing week. I am now well over 87K for this draft, a little under what I wanted to reach, but I have a lot of the next portion outlined and a plan for when to write.

Hopefully I will be able to keep pretty close to my goals and have close to a completed draft by the end of January.

Here’s a little snippet of this week’s work:

Aaron’s mouth dropped open. She was a nymph. Her pale blonde hair flew around her with each movement.

“Do you feel any illusions?” Cyrus’s quiet question was almost missed by Aaron in his shock.

Illusions?

“Zuriel, do you feel any wizard magic in use?” Cyrus clarified, his voice grew urgent as he shifted his grip on his sword.

Did he think the small nymph woman was a threat?

“No. No, just the normal wards.”

Then it hit him. How had she gotten here? There was no way to open a bleed in the training grounds. At least, not where she was standing.

Not much done last week, but I have a plan.

I have only added a few hundred since my last update, and I wrote that today, so, not much progress last week.

But, I have recently made some adjustments to same of my habits and routines and it has already had a massive impact on my creativity. So while I haven’t got much logged into my document yet, I have a pretty significant chunk of the story mapped out that I didn’t have worked out last week.

Here’s to a good week!

And a snippet:

Despite the people’s faith in him, he still doubted. He might have been made for it, but it also felt like Zuriel wasn’t who he was so much as someone he was meant to become.

Until then, it was a name he answered to, but not one he felt worthy of claiming.

Zuriel was a powerful dueling; the son of Amin, a mighty warrior who protected the chief of the largest Nymph capital in all of Vale.

But him? Aaron? Aaron was making coffee for a living and living in a room in a house his best friend owned just weeks ago.

Busy month but making progress

I have a lot of activities for weekends this month so it’s been making updates hit or miss, hence missing a week and doing another a day early. I am writing, though I am having to shift when I write. I have been trying to sit before bed and get a few hundred words in which has been working fairly well.

I have the draft just over 84k now and am having a lot of fun diving into the mechanics of the story outside of Zuriel and Aila. But also their story is in a fun place.

A little snippet:

“He’s…” Harkin hesitated. “I think he’s working against Azazel. Against Samael.”

“Of course he is, but he’s stupid and blind and is not actually on anyone’s side but his own.”

Harkin’s head rocked back as the vitriol in the mask’s words.

Cel rubbed his forehead. “I’m just saying he isn’t as trustworthy as he may seem.”

“But you are.”