It’s been a while without an update; all the way since November of 2020. During that time, I’m happy to say I’ve got a lot done in terms of writing!

The original target for The Second Sundering was to have a first draft complete by the end of COVID-19, which I (somewhat pessimistically, I thought!) estimated right around March of 2021, or a year since the beginning of the pandemic in the United States. Things didn’t quite work out that way, either on a global scale or for me.

In actuality, I set the first words to file on the final installment of the trilogy in early January of 2021, and compiled the first draft out of Scrivener on May 22, 2021. My writing pace over that time wasn’t particularly consistent — personal projects intervened, in particular a sizable chunk of yard clearing and work on a new section of fence.

My most productive month was February, with April and May being particularly affected by other projects:

January – 30,369 words over 12 chapters

February – 32,200 words over 11 chapters

March – 24,158 words over 10 chapters

April– 15,153 words over 9 chapters

May – 13,893 words over 11 chapters

The structure of The Second Sundering is such that it starts out with fewer, longer chapters, and then progresses to a rapid succession of much shorter chapters as the action reaches a climax and resolves.

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I’ll be spending the rest of this month (and likely some of the next) polishing up the alpha draft into a state where it’s ready for review and commentary by my tiny circle of readers. I intend to get back into a much more regular schedule of updating this blog, so hopefully it won’t be another seven months before my next post!