I was able to finish Chapter 25 of EM3 at long last. Rather than switching over to the next story in the rotation, I’m going to continue to work on EM3 this week with the intention of finishing it. That will leave me covered for three cycles (counting this week) and give me a little lead time to work on whatever’s coming next. While the part of me that thinks about wordcount finds this one coming up a bit short, so long as I remain a web novelist, it really doesn’t matter. Ultimately, I’ve always been of the opinion that a novel should be no longer and no shorter than the story requires. Anyway, I’ve got the task before me and now I just have to do it. Stay tuned.

It has been too dang long, but I finally had a spark of inspiration that allowed me move forward in the stories I’m currently serializing. You see I knew what I wanted to happen in Chapter 25 of EM3, but I kept getting bogged down with the details, which was getting in the way of me actually getting started. You see, I was actually going to be rewinding time a bit from where we left off in Chapter 24, so you could see what Mordekai was talking about as it unfolded. However, as I said, I was getting stuck on the details of how to make it work. Well, I decided to do away with the rewind and just continue from the present. It’s a bit cheap of me, I know, but oftentimes the best way to navigate an obstacle is to go around it. I managed to get almost 1000 words written, and the chapter has at most another 25% to go, probably less. The release will still have to wait until next week, but at least I’ll have it ready by then. At this point, my estimate is that the book will clock in around 50K words, which is a bit lighter than I’d like, but seeing as how I’m not currently pursuing traditional publication in the US market, it’s not something I need to worry about all that much. (Just wait and see if I ever get around to translating my work and trying to pitch it here in Japan, only to be told my stuff is too long for a light novel. Of course, for longer light novels, they tend to split it up into two or three parts, so that shouldn’t be a problem.) Anyway, now that I’m making progress again, I’m feeling pretty good. Now if I can only keep it up. Stay tuned.

I pushed my way through to the end of Chapter 24 of EM3, doing about three days’ quota in the process. It’d be nice if I could make progress like this more often. I’ll see if I can’t get a bit of a headstart on Chapter 25 before next cycle. Stay tuned.

I managed to actually make quota for a change working on Chapter 24 of EM3. I’ve wanted to get more writing done in the evenings, but I’ve been so run-down lately. Well, having tomorrow off should make a difference and I can push through to the end. Stay tuned.

I did better than yesterday making progress on Chapter 24 of EM3 but still well shy of the target of 500 words a day. I’m running out of time until the deadline, but I’ve got a three-day weekend coming up, so maybe I can still manage. Stay tuned.

I only managed about a quarter quota continuing along in Chapter 24 of EM3. I’ll admit to getting a bit stuck again, but maybe I can make up for lost time once I get back on track. Stay tuned.

I made more progress in Chapter 24 of EM3. By my estimates, I’ll be done in another two or three days. That’s if I can maintain the current pace, so here’s to me not tripping before the finish line. Stay tuned.

I made some more progress on Chapter 24 of EM3, but I didn’t get to finish it like I wanted because the mascot sent me to bed. At this rate, I can’t imagine making the deadline. If I can somehow manage to finish the chapter tomorrow, I’ll just shift the release schedule by a day. Otherwise, I’ll have to postpone for a week. We’ll see what happens. Stay tuned.

I only made a little progress on Chapter 24 of EM3. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’ve been swamped with work-work lately, so I have less time to steal for writing. I was actually in the office until they were ready to lock up the building. Still, right when I was settling in to focus on some writing back at the ranchero, I conk out. Dagnabbit. You see, I got hung up on diplomatic protocol in Bonaventure and was trying to figure that out when Somnus assailed me. Other than establishing the reigns of the Princes of Bonaventure, I hadn’t paid much thought to how the Principality’s government worked until now. I decided to model it on that of the Republic of Venice, but of course that meant I had to do research and I was deep down that rabbit hole when the day’s efforts came to an end. At this rate, I don’t know if I’ll be able to meet my deadline, but maybe I can turn things around. Stay tuned.

I very nearly made quota working on Chapter 24 of EM3. I still have a good ways to go before the chapter is finished, so I’m going to have to buckle down in the time I have available to me, which admittedly isn’t all that much. At least I have the scene pretty well realized in my mind, so all I’ve got to do is commit it to the page. I’ll try not to get lost down too many rabbit holes in the meantime. Stay tuned.