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   That's pretty cool. :)

   I don't have anything definitive to report on Volume #11 yet, but I'm hoping to have it out by Wednesday. I'll update when I have a better timeline.

Update on Volume #11

Volume #11 is nearly done. I'll know more this weekend when I finish editing.

I'll try to update on Saturday once I have a better idea of the release date. 

I'm also going to be setting up a mailing list in the near future, so stay tuned for news on that!

Fate Lock Volume #11

What am I up to this week?

   This week has been crazy. 

   Writing has been my greatest passion for my entire life, but passion doesn't pay the bills... at least not yet. I'm hoping that in another year I'll have enough income to write full time. Until then, I have to start working again. So...

   I started a new job. It's a really exciting opportunity, but I'll be working most days during the week. Never fear!!! I will still be updating Fate Lock at least once every three weeks, though I would prefer to post a new episode every week or two weeks.

   The reason I've been running behind for the past few volumes was because of my job search. Realistically, the new job will be just as time consuming as the job search, but hopefully it'll be less stressful. 

   Everything seems to be falling right into place now, and I'm going to be marathon-ing Volume #11 this weekend, so stay tuned for updates.

   

   Don't forget to share Fate Lock with your friends! 

Volume #10 Release Date

  Good news! Volume #10 will be out Friday 10/30!

And then everything went horribly wrong. . .

   I feel like screaming.

   So, I was having trouble with Chapter 2. I've been working on it off and on for the past three days. The pacing was wonked, and the whole scene felt rushed. I just couldn't get it right, so today I rewrote part of it. That seemed to be working, and then it just wasn't.
   Chapter 2 had to go. It just didn't make sense... and so did half of Chapter 1, and half of Chapter 3... 5,000 words in all that I'm going to have to completely rewrite. That's at least 5 hours worth of work, and that's at my best rate. It could easily take me twice that long.
   I wish I drank alcohol. If I were Kylie, I would be getting hammered right about now. If I were Riss, I would be punching someone... probably Gregory... I think I'll make Riss punch Gregory in Chapter 2 just to get my frustration out... (Kidding. Riss was already going to punch Gregory in Chapter 2... You'll see...)

   It was my own fault. I had this super exciting thing that I wanted to toss into Chapter 2, but it just didn't belong there. It was crowding out the real purpose of the scene. I might still use it later, though honestly, I think I've given the story enough plot twists that all my characters are walking around with permanent wedgies, so I'm gonna try to let this gem slip through the cracks. The story doesn't need it.

   Part of me wants to stay up all night and finish the damn thing, but I know me. If I try pulling an all-nighter, my hourly word count will tank. I won't actually finish it any faster than if I had just gotten 8 hours of sleep, and on top of that I'll catch a cold.

   Now for the good news. I am proud of me. While, yes, I am flipping frustrated, in the past a setback like this would have sent me into YouTube procrastination mode, and I wouldn't have written a thing for a week. Instead, I found the problem, hacked it out, and spent an hour creating a very detailed plan for how I'm going to make the new version of Chapters 1, 2, and 3 even better.

   I had to cut so much out that I'm not sure where my completion percentage is sitting anymore, but I'll update when I figure it out. I'll know for sure by tomorrow morning.

      I absolutely 100% have to be done by Wednesday, but I'm setting my exceptionally unrealistic completion deadline at 5pm tomorrow evening.

Volume #10 Update #4

Sunday 10/25/15
10:30pm . . . Completion 65%
Writing 85% - Editing 71% - Formatting 20%

  I had the most frustrating afternoon. Nothing wanted to work for me. I was hoping to get the writing portion of this volume completed by midnight, but that's not happening.
  I'll get as close as I can as fast as I can and update at Midnight.

4:00pm . . . Completion 63%
Writing 85% - Editing 66% - Formatting 20%

  Heading into the final stretch on this one... I'll update whenever I take a breather. I struggled with some of the scenes in Chapter 2. The pace of the story really starts to take off in this volume, and Volume #11 will be the most exciting yet. Stay tuned... ;)

Volume 10 Update #3

Saturday - 10/24/15
7:30am . . . *Completion 50%
Writing 60% - Editing 55% - Formatting 20%

  I kept meaning to update yesterday and then forgetting about it. The last 25% of each volume always goes the fastest for me. I'm really excited about the scene I'm about to start writing, so I expect that by 7pm, I'll have another 20% progress to report.
  I fully plan to have Fate Lock Volume 10 done by noon tomorrow. I'll be working through the night, and I'll update here every few hours. Wish me luck!




*As a guide to my completion percentages... The writing phase takes about 1/2 the total time I spend working on any given volume with editing and formatting taking up the other 1/2.