Rapid-fire Update!

I essentially have two chapters left to write in the beta manuscript of The Warden of Everfeld: Memento.

That’s sort of a crazy thought. Even though I had wanted to finish the beta in May, the fact that I’m actually nearing the end is encouraging. Of course, I still need to write the final chapters, but this actually feels like a conclusion worth coming to.

I didn’t really feel that way with my alpha draft, in which I rushed the final chapters and whiffed on the ending. I know that there will be more work to do. My editor is already putting ideas in my head about how to improve the opening chapters of the beta.

But I think I have a really good story on my hands. It just needs a fitting resolution and some fine-tuning.

I have not tracked my word count in any meaningful manner for weeks, but it sits somewhere around the 188k mark. I will definitely go over 190k, but I think I’d like to trim that back to 185k in the third draft.

We’ll see. Plans for this weekend include moving (nearly) fully into our new house and writing my final chapters.

But, as always, there will be much more work to come. Happy Labor Day!

Steve D