After 13+ years I sold my house and will be moving by the first week of April, probably to somewhere in the northwest. This process, along with the specific elements I’ve been working on adding in, has thrown off my productivity on the book lately, and may continue to do so for a while yet. But I think once I get established in a new place things will pick up quickly.
I hope to find a few different spots (coffee shops, etc.) within walking distance from wherever I end up, which I can rotate through instead of going to the same place every day as I do now. Habits are important to productivity, but there’s a fine line between a productive habit and a rut.
Lately I’ve been stuck on trying to work exposition dumps into parts 4-5 (total 6 parts) of the book. There’s a lot of revelations about the story world and behind-the-scenes plot machinations that need to be put in just the right places, and it’s tedious and difficult to get it done well. It’ll take as long as it takes, but it should be worth it in the end.
Once I’ve got that done and have incorporated all the alpha readers’ feedback that’s been coming in, as well as a bunch of my own notes that I have yet to work in, I’ll be able to move on to the more major rewrite effort required for the second half of part 5 and part 6: basically the whole lead-in and unfolding of the climactic sequence; plus the denouement afterward, which is rather long since the whole book is. At that point it should be at a draft 3+ level across the board, and I can do a widespread beta.
The beta is what I’m really working toward. It will be quite an exciting event for me, and hopefully an enjoyable one for the participants. Unlike with the alpha, there will be no limit to the number or type of people who can be involved, so whoever wants in will be welcome. However, with the increasing difficulty of the bits that remain to do, plus the move, it could easily be 3-6 months before that time.
So it’s onward to scout for my first new home in 14 years. See you on the other side. Figuratively speaking.
