It took me a bit of extra time, because I had to go back and re-write almost half of the first half (and IMO make the story a LOT better), but I've reached the 50,000 word milestone that signifies the approximate midway point of the first draft. It's a big deal for me, because my style generally dictates that once I get to this point I have the rest of the chapters plotted and ready - all that remains is to fill in the details. It's also a fun time, because I get to reveal the book cover. I hope you like it.

I'm trying to get it done for a February 1 release, which would be almost a year to the day that Balance was launched. I was so nervous when I hit the 'publish' button on Amazon for the first time, and now almost four books later - I still can't believe I have actual fans :)

Thanks to all of you for your support. It inspires me not only to keep writing, but to keep striving to improve my skills and bring you better stories.

I was all set to announce that I had reached the 40k word milestone on book four of the Divine Series, Bound. I was pleased with myself for reaching the ALMOST halfway point in the novel.

Then I went back and read some of it.

It wasn't that it was bad, per se. If I gave it out to some of you, you probably would have told me I was an idiot for thinking it needed to go. Except... it was the story I was telling, but not the story I wanted to tell. It felt repetitive, vanilla, and most importantly - it didn't excite me. If I couldn't enjoy writing it, how could you enjoy reading it? Again, maybe you could have. Or maybe you would have felt the same ambivalence I was feeling. Who wants to read a book like that?

I've written three books in the Divine series, and one other besides. I always end up cutting pages, adding pages, etc. I re-wrote an entire chapter in Betrayal, and I rewrote another chapter in Broken four times (I really struggled with that one).

This was the first time I changed direction... completely, and in doing so had to drop nearly 15,000 words. That's two-three weeks of work, and almost half of the total.

Gone. Dead. Buried.

It's hard to massacre your work like that. Yet sometimes it needs to be done. Will it lead to a better book? I sure hope so. I'm certainly enjoying writing it more, so that has to count for something.

The point is, it isn't about the word counts or the release schedule. It's about producing something that you're proud of, and putting every ounce of effort into reaching the level of quality you feel the reader deserves.

Even if it hurts.

Bound. 50,000 Words and Rising

When are 40,000 words NOT 40,000 words