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I am pleased to report that the next time I update here, it should be to announce that I'm ready to begin posting the revised and completed Future's Path. I have a bit more scribbling to do before the rough draft is finished, and then I'll need to check each chapter for plot holes and such. Right now, my goal is to begin posting FP chapters by the end of this month.
My thanks to all the kind individuals who have written me with encouraging words both before and during the writing process. I don't think I would've believed anyone who told me that interest in FP would continue for more than six years, especially being unfinished, but the fact that it has is very gratifying.
Other authors on SOL have recommended that when I do start posting chapters, I give readers access to roughly ten thousand words at a time. I've decided to go ahead with this recommendation, and am planning to have four major posts once the story is ready to go up. If you've read FP previously, don't feel as though this leaves you out. Although the plot has remained basically unchanged, I have added content throughout, and think the story is better for it.
As always, your feedback is welcome.
AR
Writing continues on Future's Path, although perhaps predictably, has slowed down a bit because of end of year work busyness and holiday madness. Plus, there was some writer's block nastiness holding me up for a week or so.
I'd like to finish the story and begin posting FP around the beginning of 2014, but I obviously can't make any firm promises. Still, barring any massive rewrites or failed chapters, I'm on track for that deadline.
As always, feedback is appreciated.
AR
This is one of those good news/bad news situations. The good news is, another chapter has been written. The bad news is, only one additional chapter has been written.
My birthday was quite pleasant, but one of the gifts I received was a new book by a favorite author. Predictably, I chose to read it obsessively until it was all gone. Then, allergies set in, leaving me barely competent to get up, get dressed, and fake it at work. Regrettably, hardly any writing occurred that week.
Fortunately, I am once again able to breathe, and writing has resumed at a steady, albeit somewhat slow, pace. The chapter I've just completed writing is number eleven, and my outline tells me there are fourteen chapters, plus the prologue and epilogue. So, just a little further to go.
AR
AKA, "I don't care how you format it, just write the damned thing!"
After editing chapters one through eight--a change in punctuation here, some new content there--I also decided to change how I indicated a dreamscape to the reader. Before, I just had the word "dreamscape" at the beginning of a scene, which although clear, was a touch too heavy-handed for me. So, I block quoted them instead, and will rely on that and language to clue in the reader. If your reading this after reading FP, let me know if it worked.
No worries though, I've been writing as well. Chapters nine and ten are complete, and the end is in sight. This will probably mean that the story will end up being significantly shorter than some readers might prefer, but as I believe I've mentioned here before, I'm not a fan of the seventy-three chapter epic. Sure, it's fun to be able to keep playing with your favorite characters for that length of time, but the actions they take tend to become just a bit predictable. In contrast, I prefer to plan out a story, present it to the reader without too many extraneous scenes, and then go on to something completely new. Of course, we all know how thoroughly my plans flopped in 2007, so perhaps I shouldn't become too arrogant about how well they'll work out this time.
My birthday's next week, and I plan to take a couple of days off work to celebrate. This will either, result in me leaping ahead of my projected schedule, or plummeting to a new low in productivity. Wish me luck!
AR
I'm on track for the most part, and plan to begin writing new FP content today. Editing the first eight chapters has given me a good feel for all the characters again, and has also allowed me to clean up a couple of oversights I hadn't noticed before. It's amazing what the addition of just a few words can do sometimes.
I can't say right now exactly how many chapters the final version of FP will have, mostly because I'm still tweaking events, and deciding where I want this part of the story to end. Yes, you read that right, I'm already considering the possibility of writing sequels. I don't tend to be a fan of stories that just go on, and on, and on, and on without any apparent endpoint, which means that I need to decide where a good stopping point for this bunch will be.
More soon.
AR
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