I'm right on the precipice of what I'm almost positive is the most gut-wrenching scene in the entire series. I still have about two hours of time that I could spend writing but, I can't. Not on the eve of a friend's wedding. I can't stay up till all hours sobbing at my keyboard and staring at the screen through blurry eyes. With trembling hands as I try to capture the horrifying reality of the moments that legitimately are just a few pages away.
So, I'll stop right before the exhale of the story. Right before the downswing and the tumble to the end. With a couple chapters remaining in book 4, I'm within a hairsbreadth of completion. In spite of all the things that distracted me over the last year (yes YEAR), since I was toiling away at book 3, I'm grateful to be within my goal. I'll have book 4 completed before camp, and can spend the fall and winter (hopefully), hammering out book 5.
What's distracted me, you might ask? Unlike most people, no, it hasn't solely been Netflix or Amazon Prime. Though I have watched more stuff in the background in the last few months than normal. What's distracted me has been other book stuff that has been a ton of fun to figure out. Some of those things are helpful for the book and will come in handy for publication.
Like the map I'm working on! There are still a few things to add to it, but dang. I am super happy with how this has turned out. It's not 100% completed, but it's nearly there, which quite honestly, is a major relief and super encouraging. Having this sort of map available for both my reference, and for the books, gives me a ton of drive to keep going. It's currently my desktop and my gosh my friends, I legitimately stared at it for a solid fifteen minutes tonight before I started writing.
And I made the thing! I didn't commission someone to do it, I made it! I mean, that said, it's definitely not perfect. I'm not a cartographer, and there's a reason why cartographers exist. A true master at cartography would probably do a much more astounding job on a map of the world of Tilion. But for amateur me, it'll do just fine.