Update 01-26-18
Happy New Year everyone. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season. Mine was lovely. My wife and I decided it was time to stop exchanging more than token gifts so we could focus our efforts on spoiling our new grandchild. That's infinitely more satisfying than anything we'd get each other.
I managed to get Chapter 2 finished in time to post before 2018 arrived. The very idea of going an entire year without adding a new installment felt like an annoying pebble in my shoe. Even though I knew what was supposed to happen, leaving only the actual writing to be completed, that was easier to say than do.
The year 2017 is going into the books as one of great changes in my life, some good, some not so good. On the plus side of the ledger, my wife and I became grandparents this year. Am I really old enough to be a grandmother? Apparently so, because as recently as this afternoon I was wiping the bum of the living, pooping proof of it. This is a part of middle age I can enjoy.
On the debit side, unexpected health issues came up which had a much greater impact than I'd hoped. The New Year starts with some of those challenges extending their reach well into 2018. Upcoming surgery is going to make it very difficult for me to type, but I'm exploring alternatives, including voice-to-text, or even one handed typing if it gets to that.
In any event, dealing with the various changes and challenges took precedence over almost everything else in my life.
Changes or not, I'm determined to not let 2018 repeat 2017. I'm well into Chapter 3 as I write. I've come to the first major fork in the chapter's story arc. Do I want to continue the path I initially envisioned, or do I need to slow down and let the process of the new subplot develop more deliberately than originally expected? Option A isn't really an option unless you the reader is willing to plow through 100+ pages.
I'm going to try exploring the alternate paths available to see which, if any, are better options. This is not a unique situation. It happens with nearly all the chapters. Once I start writing, the flaws and weaknesses of my original plan begin to show up. It's hardly unusual for me to end up deleting 10 to 15 pages because I've discovered that I'm on the wrong path. The Muses eventually stop toying with me and let me find the right trail to follow, but it's never a straightforward process - which is half the fun for me.
I know how the story ends. The question remains, how do we get there, and how long does it take? I have only a vague, general idea of "how" to get to the end. I have no idea how long it's going to take. A year? Ten years? Maybe it will simply become an ongoing saga. There are too many variables involved for me to make a prediction. How about, "As long as Karen and Laci are alive in me and they still have something to say, that's how long."
Thank you for your patience and understanding. In return, I promise to do my part to the best of my ability.