A Rather Stunning Statistic

Went through my numbers and realized that since the end of last June when I finally felt decent enough to start using the phone, I have somehow written over 100k words and counting.

When I was healthy and focused I almost always set 200k as my yearly goal, so still some to go, but it's a pretty significant amount.  I very much had "bad" years in there where I only wrote 120-140k and this isn't that far off.  Considering how much of it is from stolen days here or there...well, was a morale booster.

Is any of it good?

I hate how back and forth I go on that question.  This will be my 14th novel and STILL.

Last week was prime This Is Shit, I'm Shit, It All Must Be Shit, Why Am I Writing This High School Bullshit territory.

Last couple days...felt like I'm pretty awesome.

Writing wise I have maybe a couple more days on this chapter (three max) and then will need to tackle all the resolution...which is considerable.

Editing...I have no clue how that's going down.

We will see when we get there!  But apparently...we WILL get there!

6/2 Update:  Some clarification.  First, thanks for the kind comments.  But...I don't think I'm bad overall or like...whining for the sympathy you all so wonderfully supplied, however in the middle of writing a novel, especially while you're looking at a first draft that you know needs so much more work before it's published, you can really feel miserable about how you've gotten yourself into this situation and just get occasional periods of intense self doubt.

This has been especially bad with Seismic Semester due to a plethora of reasons.  Health problems limiting me.  Having to split the story into two books because I didn't accurately outline and had no idea how herculean the task of adding a whole new class of students (30 new characters) at once would turn out to be.  The chaotic plot style.  The biggest being...its complete school story.  I've fully enjoyed writing just two of the school stories (FM1 and FM3) and its given me the most headache out of anything in the whole series.  There's a reason why this was supposed to be the last one.  I want to get back to the mainline SO BAD.  Only now I have to write a whole new one to wrap up War to End All Wars.  Which shouldn't be as bad since I've introduced 90% of the new characters in this book, but...

But then you write a great scene or start editing a scene you wrote previously and think...man, I'm fucking good!  I can pull this off!  I'm not fucking crazy!

May Seismic Semester Tease

"You hug Victoria."

"No, Vick catches me unaware and won't release until I'm properly mauled. There's a difference."

Back to Work (With Slight Speedbump)

Have to see to dentist on Friday cuz on exiting RFA-ville, mostly unconscious and starving, I chowed down on an emergency granola bar and out popped a filling and that tooth is very angry despite the copious amounts of painkillers I'm on.  But, outside of that, look free and clear until next month.

Edited the last chapter I wrote and now have 50 pages to type into the computer.  AGAIN.  Also readthrough/lightly edited the 160 pages of the Vicky novel I haven't looked at in like...probably five years at this point.  It was so jarring to read that POV, just...so different from school line King Henry I've been living and breathing for years now (for too long, SAVE ME!!!).  Vicky's very observant, so much revolves around both her political acumen and her ability to see auras, and even the prose is more complex with these multipurpose sentences and paragraphs that you don't see in Seismic Semester nearly as much.

One thing I haven't talked about, is because I'm having to write on the phone, you're going to see a much more direct prose similar to the early novels in the series than the more free flowing stream of consciousness I played with in FM5/FM6.  Some people hated it, some people loved it, but its a lot harder to maintain with my thumbs on a phone than just getting super creative with a keyboard, wandering wherever I may.

Another difference is there's so much more dialogue in Seismic Semester.  Not that KH can't be introspective, but with Vicky and the Welfs and the political focus, every sentence, every pose, every piece of clothing has multiple meanings she's trying to decipher.  In contrast, with Seismic Semester, with all the new 2015 kids introduced and the 09ers and the teachers, etc., you just have constant chaos where you do not have a moment to think about what just happened, there's always another character to talk to, another plot (major or minor) that's going to pop up and then disappear as issues go round and round the merry-go-round.

Another big one...having spent the last few years post Everchanging Dilemma focused on recovering my health and high school hijinks, then suddenly have all those very serious terms and politics from the main storyline back in play...was a very OH YEAH moment.  These stakes feel so much more serious.  We know so much more about the Mancy.  We know so much more about Divines and dragons and Realms and ya know...there's a massive rebellion with psychotic lunatics on the loose.

It also contains perhaps my favorite monologue I've ever written, courtesy of Moira von Welf.  Vicky is the main POV character, but in many ways Moira is the star of the novel.  She brings her A game time and time again.  Real God had enough of Job's shit energy.

So...jarring.

But we are on the very last legs of Seismic Semester now.  Currently editing the 7k I already wrote in this chapter.  Right on the edge of finally writing one of the scenes I'm really looking forward to in this story.  Then the wrap up and we'll be in a slightly slower than usual Edit Hell.

Getting closer and closer!

Also, summer is here.  90s all week.  Boo, Fresno!

EDIT 5/18:  Well, that sucked.  I'm hurt more from the dentist than I was from the RFA.  Gonna need a quiet weekend before I even think about getting back at it.

Survived

I thought my first RFA hurt the most because it was the first I'd experienced and since I was in the most pain at that point, but apparently it was just the area they did.  Which was what they just redid.  OWWWWW.

This is officially the most typing...or sitting/standing...I can do at the moment.

Author will return in a week.

May

Almost 5k words into the latest chapter, but 3 appointments to start the month, ending with the left side T6-T9 RFA.  Means very little work getting done in the first half of the month.  Just sent an email to Deranged Doctor Designs to get a cover booked, so that'll be ongoing.  Did print out the last chapter to do some edits during my ow-ow-stuck-in-bed week.  Might also start reading through the series to start finding some random info drops I need to recall.

Why ain't you fans anal enough to have started a wiki and fill it with every little detail I can just anonymously check, huh?

You're failing me!

Also have all of the Vicky novel (I think like 150 pages?) printed up, so if I run out of things to keep occupied I suppose I can get to that as well...

Outside of that, watching things, reading things.  I'm officially an old man since I got excited yesterday when I realized Erik Larson has a new history novel out...buying a non fiction novel day one, what has happened to me?  And I'm reading things in paper again!  Not on the kindle...

Guess I'll be complaining about the newest generation next.  Stupid Zoomers.  In my day we protested with drum circles!  You're doing it wrong!

Update:  RFA got pushed up to Tuesday, had to cancel other appointment.  Means I'll have more of May to write after I recover, I suppose.  Also added about 4k more into the second to last chapter.  Kind of iffy on if this scene will make the final cut.  Feels very similar to other sections and might interrupt the tone I'm going for.  But its also quite heartfelt and some solid humor.  We'll see!