Total words: 102,828.
Chapters: Twenty-three, plus prologue and epilogue.
Pages: 354.

Reason for stopping: draft one is finished.
Music: my interview on SF Signal.
The cats: Lilly, floor; Alice, floor; Thomas, bed.

Did somebody get the number of that truck?

And once again: there you go. Draft one is done, and sent off to the Machete Squad for attack. I'm going to have edits. I'm going to have structural revisions. I think I may need to swap the epilogue out for something a little tighter (although wow am I close to the text right now, so hell if I know). I'm going to be working on this book for months to come. You know what? I'm feeling pretty good about that. Because the first Alex Price adventure is finished, and he pretty much rules.

I am exhausted and I feel sort of beaten, but the draft is done. Tonight, I will drink deep from the keg of victory. BRING ME THE FINEST MUFFINS AND BAGELS IN THE LAND!

Draft!

Total words: 122,700.
Chapters: Thirty-one.
Pages: 412.

Reason for stopping: draft one is finished.
Music: Delta Rae.
The cats: Lilly, bed; Alice, unknown; Thomas, bed.

Did somebody get the number of that truck?

Well, there you go. Draft one is done. I have edits to process, corrections to make, structural elements to adjust, and lots and lots of trimming to do—the book is currently somewhere between five and eight thousand words longer than it needs to be, the length of a short story, if you wanted to write a short story made up mostly of "just," "that," and assorted wishy-washy modifiers. But the words are on the page to be mucked about with. The first draft is finished.

I am exhausted and I feel sort of beaten, but the draft is done. Tonight, I will drink deep from the keg of victory. BRING ME THE FINEST MUFFINS AND BAGELS IN THE LAND!

Draft!

Words: ??/4,072.
Total words: 77,100.
Reason for stopping: it's time to put pants on and do the grocery shopping.
The cats: Lilly, orange cat tree; Alice, bed; Thomas, hallway floor.
Music: Little Big Town.

The odd format for the "number of words written today" section is because I've missed the last several posts, and I only know that I wrote 4,072 words today. But I don't want to give the impression so that this was a 12k day, and so I format it oddly to show that off. Hooray!

It's a little weird working on this book when book six just came out. For one thing, this is the first time ever that a book has been released while its sequel was still being written. So having Ashes of Honor so well-received has just upped the stakes on me. I think that's a good thing. I'm not going to change my story to make any specific person feel better, but I can motivate myself to earn those reviews again. Also, I can make Toby's life a living hell in the process. Everybody wins.

I will now get dressed and go out, and when I get home tonight, I'll see about finishing "Married In Green."

It's a good life.

Words: 2,125.
Total words: 65,130.
Reason for stopping: I need to shower and finish packing.
The cats: Alice, eating; Thomas, unknown; Lilly, currently on top of my foot.
Music: Florence and the Machine.

So it's later than I like to be up, and I would have stopped half an hour ago if I hadn't needed to make word count. Which begs the question of "why are you making word count so late?" I'm glad you asked! I actually finished "In Sea-Salt Tears," which is a short story giving a little more background on Elizabeth Ryan, the Selkie clan leader we met at the end of One Salt Sea (and yes, the title similarity is intentional).

I really like this story, and even more, I really like being able to go and fill in things that Toby doesn't know, and doesn't need to know, because they're not her stories. She's not the only person who's ever lived in Faerie and had a story worth telling.

I am happy.

Words: 2,208.
Total words: 63,005.
Reason for stopping: chapter fifteen is done, so I'm going to work on something else.
The cats: Alice, spare room floor; Thomas, kitchen sink; Lilly, parts unknown.
Music: random shuffle.

I could keep going, to be entirely honest: I know what the shape of the next chapter is, and I could push my way into it. But I wouldn't finish another chapter tonight, and I'd rather send this out to the Machete Squad now, while there's time for them to do something about it, than force my way onward and maybe not get them a draft until the weekend. So you see, I can be taught.

(Besides, the other thing I'm working on right now is potentially my "here, have a new book" reward, and that means I'm on a bit of a self-imposed deadline to get it wrapped up.)

I am really crazy-happy with how things are shaping up. I have the normal contradictions and conundrums of a first-draft book that's only a little over halfway done, but they're resolving themselves quickly, and it's a good story. I'm going to rock it.

Words: 10,747.
Total words: 60,797.
Reason for stopping: it is so time for bed.
The cats: all over the house, in parts unknown.
Music: random shuffle.

Well, there you go: 10,000 word weekend, accomplished. Along with catching up on several TV shows, a trip to the flea market, and seeing Step Up Revolution before it left theaters. What can I say? I am a simple girl, and simple girls have simple needs. Needs which frequently encompass complicated dance numbers surrounded by a simplistic and easily-followed plot.

This book is now super-solidly underway, and I'm a little bit in love with it, which is exactly as it should be. Even assuming that it's 110,000 to 115,000 words long, I'm over the halfway point, and things are getting nicely complicated, with some twists that I don't think anybody will see coming. And of course, stuff is paying off, finally, after I've been setting it up for six books.

I am happy.

Words: 2,762.
Total words: 50,050.
Reason for stopping: it's time for bed.
The cats: all three, on the bed.
Music: random shuffle.

I have this horrible suspicion that I'm like, 500 words from the end of the chapter, and if I just soldiered through, I'd be able to wrap chapter twelve up tonight. But that way lies madness. If I forced myself through 500 words without reaching the end, I'd try for another 500, and then it's two in the morning and I still have to be up at five for work. So I close the file for now, content in the knowledge that I broke 50,000 words tonight.

Oh, right: I BROKE 50,000 WORDS!!!!!

This is one of the big milestones, the point where there's enough written that abandoning the book is no longer an option; for right or for wrong, this is your foundation, now cope. I figure this book is going to be in the 109,000 to 116,000 word range, which is about average for a Toby book these days. So this is no longer the magical halfway point that it once was, but it's still a pretty big deal, and I should be able to get through another 10,000 words by the end of the weekend.

Progress!

Words: 4,164.
Total words: 47,288.
Reason for stopping: chapter eleven is finished, it's time for bed.
The cats: Alice, floor; Lilly, bed; Thomas, cat tree.
Music: random shuffle.

I am done with chapter eleven! I am all triumphant and stuff! Largely because now that I have most of the linear pieces in one place, I'm needing to move them around and introduce them to one another, and seriously, sometimes I am tempted to kill half my cast, just because I miss the simplicity of the early books. (I won't do that. I wouldn't do that. For me, the joy of these books is the interaction of the people. But that doesn't make it not frustrating to have to introduce eighteen people to each other every time someone new appears.)

I'll be working on Chimes at Midnight for the rest of the week, and I expect to pass the halfway mark before I go to bed on Sunday night. At that point, I can reassess the rest of my workload and determine whether this book gets another week right now, or whether I can switch over to Half-Off Ragnarok for a little while. And SymboGen is on the horizon...

A writer's work is never done. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Words: 8,461.
Total words: 43,124.
Reason for stopping: time for Leverage.
The cats: Alice, floor; Lilly, bed; Thomas, floor in the other room (he's sulking).
Music: random shuffle, lots of Christian Kane.

So this is actually a weekend word count, rather than a day: I was in Portland this weekend, because reasons, and I spent a lot of my free time sitting in my hotel room, writing. But not as much as I would have spent if I'd actually been at home, which is why it's only 8k for the weekend. Regardless, I've made some good progress, and I'm up through the end of chapter ten, and that's a good thing.

I have a lot of big plot pieces that need to fit into this book, including a major antagonist, a secondary antagonist who's not like anything I've dealt with before, and some pretty big pay offs. So it's a juggling act here in the first draft, and I am crazy grateful for the tireless efforts of my Machete Squad, without whom I would literally be lost. SO VERY LOST.

Mind you, if I keep dropping chunks like this on their heads, I may wind up lost anyway, or at least messily murdered, but until then, I shall carry gleefully on.

Words: 9,016.
Total words: 34,663.
Reason for stopping: Bedtime.
The cats: Alice, floor; Lilly, bed; Thomas, kitchen sink (literally).
Music: random shuffle, the Counting Crows.

9,000 words is a respectable day, even if it's several thousand words shy of yesterday, which was, let's face it, some kind of horrifying cosmic anomaly. I mean, no matter how you slice it, I just added 20,000+ words to this book in a single weekend, which means that most of the Machete Squad is probably going to want to bludgeon me to death when they open their email. Heh heh heh.

I'm trucking merrily along on this book, and the speed has helped to quell the freefall feeling of not knowing what in the hell I'm doing. I'm not supposed to know what in the hell I'm doing at this stage; that's what first drafts are for. The Squad will point out my rough spots, and I will fix them, and in the meantime, I could literally finish draft one by August first if I was able to continue at this pace. I can't, and I won't, but wow. It's really awesome to be in this position.

I was telling Brooke yesterday that it's weird to be in the books where things are starting to pay off. And it is weird. But it's also amazing.

I am so excited.

Words: 14,505.
Total words: 25,647.
Reason for stopping: ...uh. I think my brain just ran out my ears.
The cats: All three, eating. Mom fed them to make them stop circling my ankles.
Music: random shuffle, mostly Glee MP3s and modern country.

Um. I appear to have just written more than 14,000 words in a single day, with a break in the middle to walk to the grocery store (and another break to eat dinner, a lovely salmon and nectarine salad). I just what I don't even what. I feel like this book got tired of living inside my head and decided to get out with a jackhammer, if that was what it took.

I also feel, sadly, like this is me finally finding equilibrium with being home all day (I had the memorial service, and then I had two sick days, when my body simply said "okay, that's it, we're done" and shut down). So I have hit my groove, I have found my sweet spot...and I get to go back to work on Monday. Which is going to reset things all over again.

But in the end, that's okay, because I added the equivalent of two full short stories to this book today. And I'm going to try to do the same, or close to the same, tomorrow, allowing me to spend Monday night working on actual short stories while the Machete Squad recoils in terror from their inboxes.

Bed now.

Bed FOREVER.

Words: 2,231.
Total words: 10,248.
Reason for stopping: I have a really tight schedule tonight, and it's time to switch books.
The cats: Alice and Thomas, on the hallway floor; Lilly, asleep on my suitcase.
Music: lots of Counting Crows.

I don't actually like stopping mid-chapter when it's not to go to bed or something equally pressing, but I'm flying to Hawaii for a memorial service tomorrow, and that means I have a really full docket tonight. I have made word count on this book, I have two edit files to process and another book to work on, it is time to switch worlds. I'll use the first edit file as a palate cleanser, then work on the other book, then hopefully be awake enough to chunk through the second set of edits before bed. If I can't, I'll work on the plane.

I am happy with where this book is going. It's slow so far, but I'm not very far in, and I figure editing and revisions will tighten that up into something awesome and acceptable. And Alex is having long conversations with the mice.

I am happy.

Words: 3,104.
Total words: 11,242.
Reason for stopping: I am out of go. Time to watch Eureka.
The cats: Alice, eating; Lilly, washing her toes; Thomas, elsewhere.
Music: random shuffle, lots of Jill Tracy.

So I didn't quite finish chapter three, but as I have left absolutely no time for the poor Machete Squad to cope with things, I'm okay with that. I have a very ambitious word count schedule for the rest of the week, largely because I'm going out of town for the weekend to attend a memorial, and I'd like to have things ready before I depart. This way, I figure I can send lots of files to be reviewed, and come home to lots of things to correct. Thus is the circle of authorial life maintained.

I'm still getting comfortable inside this book (although it took like six words for me to get comfortable inside of Toby's head, because I've been living there for so long that it's practically my second address). I'll be hitting the main plot soon, and in the meantime, I'm trying to work the exposition and reminders into the text in an organic way. It's fun! And brain-bending.

And that is why I am now going to go and watch television. A girl's got to get her recovery somewhere, right? Right.

Words: 2,731.
Total words: 8,017.
Reason for stopping: chapter two is done, and it's time for dinner.
The cats: all cats are currently out of view, which is worrisome.
Music: still the soundtrack to Syfy's Monster Island. I am predictable.

Once again, I am proving the old adage that all it takes to get me writing again is a finished manuscript and the sucking terror that comes from having nothing immediately demanding my attention. (These are things I needed to be writing anyway, mind you. It's just that Parasite was such a huge chunk of text that it sort of blocked the pipeline for pretty much everything else.) So now here I am, once more hip-deep in InCryptid and loving every mucky, slime-covered step.

Half-Off Ragnarok is really interesting so far, because it's the first book from Alex's perspective. I can't help looking at the text and thinking "gosh, the Machete Squad is going to kill half of this," and at the same time, I can't tell you which half they're going to target, so I have to write it all. That's a good thing, honestly. It forces me to get used to Alex's voice, and the little quirks and oddities of his personality. He's my first (and so far, only) male narrator in this series, and so it's important to me that I get him right.

I am very excited about this expansion of my universe. You get to meet Grandma and Grandpa Baker properly, and see more of the actual ecology of the non-sapient cryptids and how they're able to remain under the radar of modern science. It's going to be a fun ride.

Whee!

Words: 4,059.
Total words: 8,138.
Reason for stopping: I finished chapter two! It's time for food.
The cats: Lilly, bed; Alice and Thomas, flopped over in the hallway.
Music: the soundtrack to Syfy's Monster Island, disturbingly enough.

4,000 words and a chapter—now that's more like it! The shape of the plot is starting to become apparent, and while we're not in the thick of things just yet, it's increasingly clear that yes, we're going to get there, whether we want to or not. (I want to, Toby, as you can probably guess, is not quite so enthusiastic about the idea. Poor Toby. She really never has nearly as easy a time of things as she wants to. If it were up to her, I would write an entire book where the most exciting thing that happened would be Quentin forgetting to put the toilet seat down.)

I think I'm really going to enjoy writing this book, now that I'm starting to get my claws into it properly. Better yet, I've finished some of the pending short fiction that was taking up space on my mental shelves, and that means my normal rotation (Toby, then InCryptid, then a third book) is reasserting itself. Life is good.

Also, this icon is my placeholder for books that don't have icons of their own yet, and I'm really excited to know that soon, I'll be able to swap it off of all my Ashes of Honor posts. Because I am that much of a nerd.

Words: 2,211.
Total words: 4,089.
Reason for stopping: chapter one is finished! Time for So You Think You Can Dance.
Music: random shuffle, lots of Glee.
The cats: it's early yet, so they're off doing cat things.

Well, that's chapter one down. A little over 2,000 words for the night isn't awesome, but it's always slow-going in the beginning, when the story is just beginning to pick up steam and I'm still feeling my way into the situation. Honestly, just typing "chapter two" before closing the file made me want to weep for joy. I'm back. I'm in Toby's world, and I'm back. And more, I get to stay for at least three more books after this one, so I can unpack my things and really get comfortable.

There isn't too much I can say about what's going on, since Ashes of Honor isn't out yet and I try not to spoiler. But jam is involved, and also shirtlessness, coffee, and Toby not getting enough sleep. But isn't that always the way?

I'm back.

Words: 1,878.
Total words: 1,878.
Reason for stopping: it's time for bed.
Music: the Rock of Ages soundtrack.
The cats: Alice, bed; Thomas, bed; Lilly, cat tree.

It's official: as of tonight, Chimes at Midnight is properly and officially started. I've hammered through most of chapter one, I've established the initial conflict that kicks everything else off, and I've remembered why I am so damn in love with this world and the people that it contains. I know some people are frustrated by the fact that I've gone down to one Toby book a year to make room for InCryptid, and while I desperately hope that someday I'll be able to be full-time and write three urban fantasies a year, there's a beautiful homecoming aspect after having taken this long of a break that's just plain magical. It's like...this is where I wanted to be, and I barely even knew it. It's amazing.

Tomorrow night, I'll knock out another thousand or so words of the Rose Marshall story I'm working on (it's for an anthology), and then I'll finish chapter one of Chimes at Midnight. And then I'll probably cry, because here we go again.

Here we go again.

Current stats:

Words: 8,464.
Total words: 101,114.
Reason for stopping: I sort of, well, ran out of book.
Music: lots of things, mostly Dave and Tracy.
Lilly, Alice, and Thomas: bed, orange cat tree, and beige cat tree, respectively.

First draft stats:

Pages: 347
Chapters: twenty-five, plus a prologue and an epilogue
Started: November 2, 2010
Finished: February 18, 2012

So it turns out that finishing a Toby book and a Mira Grant book and doing lots of conventions and writing another Toby book and a couple of Mira Grant novellas and not sleeping makes me slow. Which is why this book took fifteen months to write (the first one took fourteen months, and I swore that this one would go faster). And yet. I am done with the first draft of Midnight Blue-Light Special, and Discount Armageddon is not yet on shelves, and that means I win.

I am so tired. I am physically and emotionally exhausted, and my eyes hurt because I cried through the last two chapters. But I am done. I am finished.

I will deal with a few pending edits and send the first draft to the Machete Squad tomorrow. But for right now? I sleep.

For right now, I win.

Words: 35,287.
Total words: 92,654.
Reason for stopping: I need to eat a food.
Music: lots of dance music and modern country.
The cats: Alice, bed; Thomas, who knows; Lilly, guest bed.

So, uh. Yeah, I did not do all that in one night, but apparently I missed a few word count posts, so this is sort of getting me back into alignment. I actually wrote about 6,000 words tonight, after finishing my word count for "San Diego 2014" and realizing that I finally knew how to make the ending fall together the way that it's supposed to. Tomorrow night, I'll do the same thing (work on the project with a closer due date first, and then slide back into Verity's shoes for a little tango), and then this weekend, I'll probably type "THE END" on the draft as a whole.

It feels weird. Like, really weird. It's weird that I haven't finished it yet, and it's weird that it's so close to ending, because right now, this is it. I do not have a contract for book three, and whether I get one will be determined partially by how Discount Armageddon does. So this could be the end for me in this universe, and I'm not ready yet. I don't want to go. But the ending is here, and I have to let it be honest. I don't cheat. Not with things like this.

But it feels so weird. So, so weird.

I hope this isn't the end.

Words: 12,732.
Total words: 57,367.
Reason for stopping: chapter fourteen is finished.
Music: lots of dance music and modern country.
The cats: Alice, bed; Thomas, floor; Lilly, cat tree.

I'm pretty sure I was actually supposed to work on something else today. In fact, I'm practically certain of it. But I kept going "oh, just another hundred words," and "oh, I'm almost to the end of this chapter," and the story kept rolling on, and then it was the end of chapter fourteen, and the day was basically over. This is what we call "writing what needs written," rather than "writing what the schedule says." It doesn't happen to me often, but oh, when it does...

When it does, it's magical.

Anyway, not much with the mice in this segment, so I don't have a new exultation, but I do have a lot more words (more than half a book now!), and I do feel pretty darn good about the whole situation. Soon, the second adventure of Verity Price and her insane friends will be in the bag. And that's awesome.

Words: 19,428.
Total words: 44,635.
Reason for stopping: through chapter eleven, it is a WORLD of bedtime.
Music: mostly folk and Glee soundtracks.
The cats: all three unknown, which is worrisome.

So, I, uh, forgot my word counts for a little while, which is why today looks like a SUPER PRODUCTIVE OMG day, when it's really just a majorly productive day. My apologies for the chicanery. I shall try to not let it happen again. But regardless, I am now almost halfway through with the book, which is amazing and awesome, and I am so very excited. Especially since I'm working on eight other things at the same time. How Seanan Got Her Groove Back, yo.

The mouse exaltation of the day is worthless without context: "HAIL ISTAS!" Sadly, you cannot have context. Context, you cannot have. But soon! Soon, all these people will begin making sense to you, and you can rejoice with me (and the mice)!

Alice has just appeared, and is demanding I go to bed and pet the cat until the cat is done being petted, which should be next week. Oh, and I did manage to buy myself the free space to write the next Jonathan and Frances Healy adventure, "Hell of a Ride." It's going to be a free download on my website, between the release of Westward Weird (January) and Discount Armageddon (March). Whee!

Cheese! And! Cake!

Words: 9,947.
Total words: 25,207.
Reason for stopping: through with chapter seven, time to send off to the Machete Squad for review.
Music: an astonishing amount of modern country.
The cats: Lilly, drawer; Thomas, floor; Alice, top of the front room cat tree.

I'm finally working on Midnight Blue-Light Special again! Hooray! Not only that, but I'm making good progress; given that the first book was roughly 100k, I'm about a quarter of the way through the book, and most of the really important pieces have been put into position, ready for me to start knocking them over. I'm totally excited, and also deeply relieved, since I want to be mostly, if not entirely, finished by the time Discount Armageddon actually hits shelves. I am a simple soul.

The mouse exaltation of the day is a pretty straightforward one: "CHEESE AND CAKE!" It's not as common in the actual text as you might think, despite it being a major part of their religion, because they don't need to say it all the time. This chunk also featured Istas, which always makes me happy. She's a fun girl.

I really, really want to buy myself a few "free days" (days where I have already written so far ahead of target word count that I can do other things), so that I can write the next two Jonathan and Franny stories, "Hell of a Ride" and "Loch and Key." The first John and Fran story will be appearing in the anthology Westward Weird, coming out in January.

Cheese! And! Cake!

Words: 15,820.
Total words: 116,181.

Reason for stopping: draft one is finished.
Music: lots of Counting Crows and modern folk.
The cats: Lilly, in my tank top drawer; Alice, on the cat tree; Thomas, occupying half the kitchen floor.

There we are, then; draft one is done.

I have edits to process, corrections to make, structural elements to adjust, and lots and lots of trimming to do—the book is currently somewhere between five and eight thousand words longer than it needs to be, the length of a short story, if you wanted to write a short story made up mostly of "just," "that," and assorted wishy-washy modifiers. But the words are on the page to be mucked about with. The first draft is finished.

I am so relieved. I will spend the weekend in Ohio working on the page proofs for Blackout, and attach Ashes of Honor with renewed vigor when I return. (Oh, who am I kidding. I'll be editing this puppy all weekend. But I'll also be getting ready to write something new.)

Life is good.

Words: 11,559.
Total words: 100,361.
Reason for stopping: I can no longer convince my eyes to focus, which means stopping time.
Music: lots of country and goth.
The cats: Lilly, in a loaf on the bed; Alice, in a loaf on the floor; Thomas, prowling around the hall.

As I work, I am slowly—very slowly, especially for me—dealing with the edits from my Machete Squad. The fact that I'm within 10,000 words of the projected end of the book means that I will soon be able to take a day and process the remaining edits, which will be nice. I really want to get the first draft out of the way, so that we can bend to the more difficult job of beating said first draft into something resembling shape.

This last month has been absolutely grueling. Since Blackout ran so far over, I have been forcing myself to make word count every day, even when I have edits to crunch, because I need those words to be on the page where they can be corrected more than I need to have the space to move at my usual pace. Once I finish draft one, things can return to something a little closer to normal. I can see some of the holes that currently exist in the book, the places where I'm going to need to build some things up and tear other things down. Now all I need to do is get there.

I need a nap. Goodnight, moon.

Words: 16,844.
Total words: 88,802.
Reason for stopping: the book just broke three hundred pages; I need sleep.
Music: mostly Great Big Sea and random country.
The cats: Lilly, in a loaf on the bed; Maine Coons, unknown.

I can look at what I just wrote and already start to say "this paragraph is repetitious, this scene is too long, this scene is too short, fix it fix fix it." But because I have dealt with my internal editor for years now, I am putting that little voice aside and moving on, moving toward a point where I can apply that urge to the entire manuscript. And that time is getting closer every day. I'm shaving days off my estimated time of completion with every session like tonight's, which went over 800 words past where it "needed" to go (and even that "need" is currently 2,000 words ahead of my estimate chart, because I got a lot of work done over the weekend).

This is all good. I do my best work, structure-wise, when I'm moving so fast that I'm tripping over my own feet. Also, and this is a big, big also, this level of completion means that I'm getting the space I need to work on some other projects, and that's a good thing. I'm at my sanest when I'm skipping between worlds every night, spending Mondays with Toby, Tuesdays with the Price family, and Wednesdays with someone else altogether. Soon, the world will go back to normal.

And I can't wait.

Words: 17,558.
Total words: 71,958.
Reason for stopping: chapter seventeen is done, and I need to pack for Seattle.
Music: mostly Great Big Sea and random country.
The cats: Alice, sneering at the contents of her food dish; others, unknown.

So, um. That happened.

We've hit the all-important middle section of the book, where I throw things at the wall just as fast as I possibly can, and then go back to sculpt and scrub them until they resemble something that's actually shaped like the story I want to tell. It's a lot of "three steps forward, two steps back," but every step takes me a little closer to my eventual victory over the troublesome patches in the text. It's awesome.

Also, now that I'm over 70,000 words, I can actually start booking one night a week to work on Midnight Blue-Light Special, the sequel to Discount Armageddon, and a book I've been hugely looking forward to writing. So there's that. I love Toby, and I love InCryptid, and a good mix of them turns out to be an excellent way of keeping myself sane.

It's harder to write these posts than it used to be, because so many people are wonderfully, miraculously invested in this series, and I don't want to give more spoilers than I absolutely have to. But I'm super-happy with how Ashes of Honor is coming together, and I think you will be, too.

Yay.

Words: 6,220.
Total words: 54,400.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter thirteen. Now is the time of sleeping.
Music: an awful lot of Glee, really.
The cats: Lilly, on the bed, Thomas, on the orange tree; others, unknown.

If I did not have a bedtime enforced by biology and my need to get up at five o'clock tomorrow morning to go to work, I would have broken two hundred manuscript pages tonight. Since I have this thing, I have stopped at the end of the chapter, which should make the Machete Squad happy. They get a little cranky when I drop eight chapters on them in a single fell swoop. Something about the way where I still expect my comments just as fast...

This was a pretty easy chunk to write, and the next chunk is likely to be the same, since it has characters I adore (and am pretty good at writing for), fun things to do, and lots of running down corridors (which Doctor Who has taught me is a necessary part of all stories). I'm starting to feel pretty darn good about this book. Better yet, I have this entire weekend to work, with the exception of a few podcasts and a trip to the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Life is good. Goodnight, world.

Words: 9,843.
Total words: 48,180.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter twelve. Now is the time of sleeping.
Music: mostly Pink, Dar Williams, and Ludo. Still.
The cats: Alice, demanding I stop typing and love her. Others, unknown.

...well, that happened. And yes, the temptation to write just another two hundred words and break the 10k barrier was very strong. I have suppressed it by reminding the little voice that asks for such things that we're on track to break 50k on Wednesday (I get Tuesday nights off), and that's pretty damn awesome. Ashes of Honor is projected to be "average length" for a Toby book, which means between 101,000 and 112,000 words. Probably somewhere in the middle. So hey, I have almost half a book! Woo-hoo!

In the text, I can say without spoilers that Toby and Quentin have reached Tamed Lightning, and everything is going about as well as can be expected at this stage in a Toby book. So I get to have April O'Leary-flavored goodness for at least five minutes before everything goes to hell.

Finding the balance between "look, if you're reading book six in the series, I really hope you've read the first five" and "previously, on October..." is fascinating, and incredibly difficult. Every book, I get people who complain that there's too much back story, and people who complain that there's not enough; I have to find the ragged edge between them and skate along it like my life depends on it. I think I'm getting better at it, but there's so much background now that it's still occasionally very hard.

I'm making my goals; the book is moving along at a decent clip; while there will doubtless be extensive rewrites and at least one crying jag, I expect to have a finished first draft by the end of October.

Yay.

Words: 12,669.
Total words: 38,337.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter ten. Now is the time of sleeping.
Music: mostly Pink, Dar Williams, and Ludo. Still.
The cats: Alice, eating kibble one piece at a time, like a weird raccoon. Others, unknown.

Before you freak out, no, I didn't write 12k in one night. I just missed a few word count updates, and that means I've recorded all the progress between now and then. On the other hand, the book is over a hundred pages long now, and it looks like I may break 50k by the end of next week. So you can get excited about that, if you want.

Ashes of Honor is starting to find its shape, beyond the necessary "and the plot requires that these seventeen guns be placed on their respective mantles" which always happens in the first few chapters (and gets deleted before the book ever sees a shelf). Characters are behaving in ways that make sense for them, if not for anyone saner, and things are going roughly like I expect them to go.

It's weird not to be thinking in terms of the Undersea, which was a wonderful, incredibly exciting playground for me, but which doesn't fit naturally into every story I tell. I do get to play more with April O'Leary in this book, which makes me happy; I love April. I may also get to introduce January's wife, Li, who was absent from A Local Habitation for very good reasons, but will be important later. It's exciting! I'm excited.

And now I, and my excitement, will go to bed. Later, all.

Words: 8,256.
Total words: 25,668.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter seven, and need to finish writing an essay.
Music: mostly Pink, Dar Williams, and Ludo.
The cats: all sacked out on the bed like fuzzy potatoes.

I am...working. I am making progress and I am working and by the standard length of a Toby book (roughly 100,000 to 110,000 words, give or take a chapter), I broke 25% of this book today. Which is incredible.

To be honest, finishing Blackout just killed me. It racked me up one side and down the other, and it's not really over yet; I'm still waiting on the editorial letter from The Other Editor, at which point, the Machete Squad gets to attack the manuscript again while I make the changes he feels are necessary (and he's going to be right, because he's always been right so far, and I trust him, which is wonderful). I was terrified going back into Ashes of Honor. What if I couldn't find my footing? What if I couldn't figure out where I stood?

I didn't need to be afraid. Toby is as natural to me as breathing at this point, and while her stories aren't always easy (on either one of us), they're familiar territory. I like it in her world. I can stay there for as long as I need to. It's comfortable, and it's mine, and it's one of my imagination's true homes.

I think this one is going to be just fine.

Words: 5,574.
Total words: 17,412.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter five, and now it is time for bed.
Music: totally random shuffle; lots of country music.
The cats: all feline locations are currently unknown, which probably ought to worry me a bit.

So I finally got the chance to return to Ashes of Honor, which is good, since that means everything is going according to schedule. And as expected, I opened the file, looked at the text, squinted a little, and promptly wrote an entirely new chapter one, following it up with a shiny new chapter five (which would have been chapter four, if chapter one hadn't become chapter two). My total inability to write the first chapter the first time I try continues unabated!

I am really, really happy to be back in Toby's head. She's a comforting place for me to be, messed-up and bizarre as she can sometimes be. I've known her for a long time, after all, and this is our sixth book together. That, too, is a little bit strange, and a whole lot wonderful. Six books! Back when this was a short story and I was an aspiring novelist, who would have guessed? It really is amazing.

Next week is the WorldCon in Reno, but for right now, it's me and Toby and the gang, and we're going on a wonderful adventure, again, and I couldn't be any happier. Honest.

Date started: September 14th, 2010.
Date finished: July 10th, 2011.

Total words: 165,481.
Total pages: 605.
Total chapters: Forty.

Well, that's that. It's done. Three books. More than three years. My first finished series. And while this is only the first draft, it will go quickly through the next few cycles, becoming a finished book in the time it takes to blink. And then it will be over.

Mira Grant was born after this series. Newsflesh became Feed; a standalone became a trilogy; "that zombie novel Seanan keeps threatening to write" became the book that would get me nominated for a Hugo award. The Masons and their friends and their enemies and the science and the politics and the zombies, it all became...

It became...

It became so much bigger than I ever dreamed it was going to become. I am so grateful. I am so sad that it's over.

Alive or dead, the truth won't rest.

Rise up while you can.

Words: 4,226.
Total words: 146,291.
Estimated words remaining: 4,000.
Reason for stopping: I am sick even unto death.
Music: really, really LOUD rock and roll.
Cats: Alice, flat on the lower tier of the cat tree; Lilly, on the windowsill; Thomas, on the top level of the cat tree.

As expected, I did not finish the book today. Also as expected, the book is going to run a little over my first draft estimate, putting us, oh, probably closer to 155,000 than 150,000 words. That's fine. Soon, I will finish this draft, process my pending edits, and ship the whole messy thing off to the patient Machete Squad for hacking into bits.

I am truly and genuinely almost done with my first series as Mira Grant. I am getting ready to write "THE END" on this huge, sprawling, amazing story. I am delighted. I am terrified.

I am also sick even unto death, so I'm going to go sleep now.

Words: 7,639.
Total words: 142,065.
Estimated words remaining: 8,000.
Reason for stopping: I'm tired, and it's time for bed.
Music: really, really LOUD rock and roll.
Cats: Alice, eating; Lilly, loafing on the bed; Thomas, eating

On an average work night, I write between 2,000 and 4,000 words, along with assorted edits, emails, and the rest.

I have an estimated 8,000 words to go in this book. That is, essentially, two days of work. Now, I'm not actually going to finish Blackout on Wednesday; I have edits to process, and the first draft will almost certainly run 3,000 to 8,000 words long, giving me lots of room to go back and cut things that are repetitive or turn out not to be necessary. But I'll hit the point where everything becomes gravy sometime this week. Even with the event this weekend, even with Amy and Wes showing up on Friday, I'm almost there.

It's a weird feeling, sort of pride and terror all tangled up together. A lot of people are reserving judgement on the trilogy as a whole based on this book. If it's not good, they're going to be disappointed in me. So I have to stick this landing like it's the fucking Olympics, and I need to do it with style and grace. It's scary. It's amazing. It's the reason I write books, rather than sticking with stories that come out quicker and clearer and don't bleed on my floor quite as much.

We're almost there.

Words: 23,601.
Total words: 134,426.
Estimated words remaining: 16,000.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter twenty-nine/book IV. Now is the time of bed.
Music: random shuffle, lots of Counting Crows.
Cats: Alice, unknown; Lilly, sitting next to the chair; Thomas, sitting in the hall.

Let me make it clear that I did not actually write 23,000 words today. I just haven't managed to make a word count post in a little while, which means I had some catching up to do. There; now consider me caught up. And since I have no further travel this month, I should be able to stay caught up. And that's terrifying.

Not counting the time needed to revise and process edits, I should finish this book in between four and ten days; probably somewhere in the seven to eight day range. It's been harder than I expected, because it's...it's like graduating high school. It's not just math class, it's the LAST math class. It's not just lunch, it's the LAST lunch.

It's not just a zombie. It's the LAST zombie.

But I shall persevere. The end is in sight, and on the other side of it is revision and rewriting and also buckling down on Ashes of Honor, which will be so refreshing you don't even know. All I have to do is get there.

All I have to do is rise.

Words: 5,544.
Total words: 110,825.
Estimated words remaining: 35,000.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter twenty-four. I now need to get ready for a wedding.
Music: ALL THE LUDO. I seriously have all four albums on loop.
Cats: Alice, sulking by the food dish; Lilly, curled on the bed; Thomas, ditto.

So I set really ambitious word count goals for Friday and Saturday (despite new Doctor Who) in order to be able to take today off and attend a friend's wedding. Only it turns out I don't have to leave for the wedding for another hour, and I got up at seven o'clock this morning, and...

Yeah.

On the plus side, I'm pretty sure this puts me two days ahead on my word count goal, which means I can book tomorrow afternoon for 2,000-4,000 words on "Rat-Catcher." I'm totally going to pretend I did that on purpose, yo. I am ENDLESSLY ORGANIZED. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

Now I'm going to put on pants, send the newest chapters off to the machete squad for review and abuse, and take a walk before it's time to get moving.

Happy Zombie Day, everybody!

Words: 15,445.
Total words: 105,281.
Estimated words remaining: 40,000.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter twenty-two. It's time for dinner and Fringe and breathing.
Music: The Hazards of Love, by the Decemberists.
Cats: Alice, being a loaf on the floor; Lilly, being a loaf on the bed; Thomas, trilling and pluming his tail.

Well.

That's that, then.

I need a hug.

Words: 4,093.
Total words: 89,836.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter eighteen. I require ice cream and Fringe.
Music: Prepare the Preparation, by Ludo.
Cats: Alice, complaining about how I NEVER FEED HER EVER; Thomas, patrolling the shelves; Lilly, asleep on the cat tree.

...okay, so I admit it: stopping myself at a natural stopping point, rather than trying to push it and cross 90,000 words tonight? Kinda hard. I sort of feel like I deserve a cookie, or, barring that, some mint cookie ice cream. Which is why I'm going to go and have some mint cookie ice cream now.

It's increasingly hard to talk about what's going on, because everything is a spoiler. So I just flail and gibber a lot, which works well for me, overall. Soon, the book will be done, and then the Machete Squad can hack it to bits before The Agent and The Other Editor do the same. And about the time it starts hitting shelves, I'll turn off the internet and hide under my bed for a few weeks, before crawling out and resuming work on whatever insane thing is consuming my life by that point.

It feels good to finally have momentum on my side. It feels real, real good...and a little bit frightening, like I'm trying to steer a Doom Buggy down a major highway at rush hour. And this puppy doesn't have any brakes.

When will you Rise?

Words: 15,687.
Total words: 85,743.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter seventeen and book three. Time to work on something else.
Music: random shuffle, with multiple replays of the new Ludo album and The Broken Bride.
Cats: all three are on strange cat errands elsewhere in the house, granting me a rare moment of peace.

As of tonight, the manuscript for Blackout is over 300 pages long, and we've entered Book III, "Foundations," which signals the book coming into the home stretch. I'm already starting to see the parts I'm going to need to tighten up or flesh out in draft two, which is always a good sign. Soon, I'll need to add the "words remaining" line to my word count template for this project. And that is wonderful.

Finishing a series is something totally new, and totally fascinating. I've never had to tie off all the loose ends and cauterize all the wounds like I'm doing right now. There may be other books set in this world (one of them, Rewind, is already in outlines), but there won't be any more about this particular set of characters, or this particular set of circumstances. So a lot of questions have to be answered, and a lot of endings have to be arranged. It's kind of awesome, in a soul-suckingly terrifying sort of a way.

I have loved my time with these people very much. They've taught me amazing things about how to be a writer. But it's time for me to let them finish.

This is where we have to Rise.

Words: 8,409.
Total words: 70,056.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter fourteen. My shoulders hurt.
Music: random shuffle, lots of loud country music. THE MUSIC OF PAIN.
Cats: Alice, on the guest room bed; Lilly, loafed up on the cat tree; Thomas, on the bed, looking fluffy.

So the manuscript for Blackout is now a) over 70,000 words long, and b) 245 pages long, which sounds very impressive when you put it like that. Given that the book is estimated as coming in between 140,000 and 150,000 words, I'm approaching the point where I can safely say that I'm halfway home. That will be nice. I'll like it when I hit that point.

This book is...interesting. It's been going more slowly than Deadline and more quickly than Feed, as I start paying off the things I've spent two books setting up, and try to make sure that my science, fringe as it is, doesn't have any massive gaping holes that could have somehow been avoided. It's weird to know that this is the last time I'm going to be spending with these people. I mean, I'll have months and months of writing and editing and page proofs and everything, but...this is the last brand-new book. This is where it all ends.

This is where we have to Rise.

Words: 10,842.
Total words: 61,647.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter thirteen. It's time for dinner.
Music: random shuffle, an enormous amount of Glee.
Cats: Alice, on the guest room bed; Lilly, loafed up on the cat tree; Thomas, parts unknown.

So no, I didn't manage to hit 70,000 words before the invasion descended. But I did manage to break 200 pages in the manuscript, a landmark which came solidly in the middle of a very grim, very tense scene that was both hell and extremely exciting to write. All my chickens are coming home to roost, which is exactly what needs to happen with a book of this sort, and yet is still very satisfying to see actually happen.

I've set up a little tracker in my .txt file, the one that I pass from machine to machine as I track all the junk and links and random things that build up in my life. This one compares my current word count to the "must be at least this tall to ride this ride" word count (IE, "how long the book has to be"). I'm aiming for between 140,000 and 150,000 words. Right now, I'm right on track. That is both amazing and terrifying.

I'm starting to feel like this book may actually put paid to everything. It's crazy, but it's true.

I think I can do this.

Words: 7,010.
Total words: 50,805.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter eleven. I need to pause.
Music: random shuffle, lots of angry Goth rock.
Cats: Alice, sitting in the hall; Lilly, sleeping in my underwear drawer; Thomas, flat on the bed, cuddling his squid.

Okay, that was...a lull, brought on by needing to hammer my way through the editorial revisions of One Salt Sea. But I'm back on track now, and have broken both 50,000 words and 175 pages. Also, the phrase "zombie bear" is not inaccurate. I'm just saying. And I got to give another example of a weird post-zombie legal decision. It's sad that the legal system of this world fascinates me the way that it does, but imagine being on the Supreme Court when the first of these cases started showing up!

I have the upcoming weekend totally free, followed by a weekend full of book release party chaos. I believe that I can be calm about not doing any work next weekend if I can hit 70,000 words by the end of this weekend. So that's my totally reasonable, not-insane-at-all goal. 70,000 words by the end of the weekend.

There is something wrong with the way my brain is wired, I swear.

Current stats:

Words: 115,732
Pages: 427
Chapters: thirty-five of thirty-five
Started: February 15th, 2011
Finished: February 26th, 2011

So it turns out that when I'm really focused and not working too much on anything else (largely because I knew that failure to handle my revisions would make me useless as far as finishing anything else goes), I can get from one end of the longest Toby manuscript yet to the other end in eleven days. In case I ever need to go in for land-speed trials or anything crazy like that.

My timeline is fixed; my dialogue is tighter; my blocking is clarified; some questions have been answered; some new questions have been raised. I feel much more confident in Ashes of Honor now that I think I truly understand where the ground is at the end of One Salt Sea. It's a better book than it was eleven days ago. The Machete Squad has it now; I believe it will be a better book still when they're done with it. And then I can focus on the things yet to come, like Newsflesh three, and Toby six, and InCryptid two.

Sleep is for other people. Not me, and not Toby.

But it's a book, and I'm going to bed.

Words: 10,262.
Total words: 43,795.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter nine, and it is so time for bed.
Music: random shuffle, lots of country music. THE MUSIC OF PAIN.
Cats: Alice, a large blue lump on the floor; Lilly, unknown; Thomas, a long blue line on the bed.

So four days ago I went "yay, I'm over 100 pages, yippee for me." Today, I am going "I am now over 150 pages, dude, what the fuck." (153 pages, to be precise.) I have finally hit the point where the book basically writes itself, and I have to type as fast as I can, just to catch up. This is the stage where I make the most fascinating word-substitution typos, the ones my spell check can't catch but my early readers thankfully can. (Tonight's gems include "assistance" for "assistants," and "dune" for "done.") This will last another 20,000 words or so, before I reach the bottom of the hill and have to start forcibly dragging myself upward again. And I can live with that.

In "my brain is an ecosystem" news, I got my editorial letter for One Salt Sea today. I'd been expecting it sometime this month, which is part of why I've been writing with such frantic focus, since Blackout will now need to take a backseat to revisions on the fifth Toby book, at least for a few weeks. But there's no way I'm going to let work stop completely. I couldn't, even if I wanted to; the book has too much momentum, and it's going to drag me along with it, whether I want to go or not.

I'm so amazed that we're finally here. I never dreamed we'd make it this far.

When will you rise?

Words: 9,190.
Total words: 33,533.
Reason for stopping: finished chapter seven/book one. Time to watch some TV.
Music: random shuffle, lots of goth and punk.
Cats: Alice, unknown; Lilly, curled up on my bed; Thomas, curled up behind my chair, making chirping noises. Again.

As of tonight, I am a) done with chapter seven, b) done with Book I, c) officially over 30,000 words, and d) officially over 100 pages. Since this book is projected at 145,000 words (welcome to Stephen King territory, please keep your hands inside the car at all times), this is kinda awesome—I really needed to be moving into these regions. This also means that I am now at the top of the first big hill, and can begin to PLUMMET RAPIDLY DOWNWARD. Woo!

I'm terribly excited about this book, and terribly dismayed about the fact that I can't really discuss it with anyone, beyond "well, there are words on pages, and the pages are turning into a manuscript, and it's all very exciting," since it's basically one big REDACTED FOR SPOILERS at this point. Ah, well. Soon enough.

When will you rise?

Words: 10,302.
Total words: 24,343.
Reason for stopping: chapter five is finished! And everyone rejoices.
Music: mostly my own latest album. I'm not sick of it yet, which is a good sign.
Cats: Alice, eating; Lilly, in my underwear drawer; Thomas, making chirping noises at me.

I'm done with chapter five! More importantly, I've broken 20,000 words, and I'm rapidly approaching the magic 100 page mark! For me, that's when a book stops messing around, and shit starts getting real in a big, big hurry.

This book is moving more slowly than I expected, because it's a big jigsaw of loose ends and necessary connections, and I absolutely want to stick this landing. I don't think I've ever wanted a book to be amazing quite as much as I want this one to be amazing. I want to finish the first draft and go "Whoa, did I write that?" I want to love it, because it's the last block of time I get to spend with the Masons. This is where it ends. This is where I put my huge, messed-up zombies-and-politics epic to bed.

And to think it all started in Micheal's kitchen.

Thanks, Michael.

Words: 4,721.
Total words: 11,838.
Reason for stopping: I have finished chapter three, and will now have a shower.
Music: totally random shuffle.
The cats: Lilly, orange cat tree; Alice and Thomas, prowling around the hall.

Chapter three is done! Chapter three is done! According to the usual length of these books, 10% of the finished manuscript is done! Okay, that's...less reassuring than I expected it to be, since that makes me think about the other 90%. Let's focus on chapter three being done, shall we? I've set up everything I need to get things moving, and now it's time to rock and roll.

The initial waves of edits have been coming in, and getting processed, despite the insanity of convention season. February and March are light months for me, if you don't count the part where March contains an actual book release, so I should be able to stay pretty much on top of things. I'm so excited about this book, and about Late Eclipses coming out, as that will bring you all one step closer to my current status quo. Being three books ahead of everyone else is hard.

Alice is now sitting next to my desk chair and glaring loudly. I'm serious, it's impressive how loudly this cat can glare. I think I need to go brush the Maine Coons, lest they elect to smother me to death tonight while I'm trying to sleep.

Next up, more Blackout!

Words: 3,478.
Total words: 7,117.
Reason for stopping: chapter two is done, and it's time for bed.
Music: totally random shuffle.
The cats: Lilly, cat bed; Thomas, sleeping in my laundry; Alice, unknown.

And now, with the completion of chapter two, the good ship Ashes of Honor is ready to set sail for the proofing mines. Oh, the dangers it will face, the flashing machetes, the chomping alligators...but it will sail out the other side divine, filled with properly-placed commas and cars that don't inexplicably disappear in the middle of a chapter. I love the proofing mines so. And I fear them even more.

This has been a crazy-productive week, which is good, since my initial figures for 2011 basically say "write 2,000 words every day OR DIE IN THE PIT OF SNAKES." So every day where I can write more than 2,000 words buys me a little time to myself. Or, you know, time to write something that wasn't on the original list. You know, the usual craziness that goes on around here.

Alice has just wandered into the room and informed me, loudly, that it is time for bed. I'm going to take the cat's word on things.

Goodnight, world.

Words: 3,255.
Total words: 15,260.
Reason for stopping: chapter one is finished, and chapters two through four have been tweaked accordingly.
Music: mostly dance mixes. Fancy that.
The cats: presumably back in California.

So yeah, I did it again; what I thought was chapter one was actually chapter two, necessitating the composition of a whole new chapter one, and revision of the existing chapters, to make the new chapter one fit with the rest of the book. And, again, the book is infinitely better and more fun, right out the gate, for having had this new chapter one added. I should really give up on first chapters, and just plan to write them when I've finished the rest of the book, I swear.

There is no mouse exaltation of the day, as the mice do not appear in the new chapter one. I apologize, and promise more mousy goodness to come. Probably when it will annoy Verity as much as humanly possible.

I've actually been spending a lot of time in this universe lately, having finished a story set three generations before Discount Armageddon, and done some heavy revision on a few stories set to generations before. This series really is a family affair, and I work industriously to make that obvious. Also, it's fun to do period-piece cryptozoology.

I am, perhaps, easily amused.

Words: 4,014.
Total words: 14,041.
Reason for stopping: chapter four is finished at last.
Music: everyone else in the house playing Rock Band.
Cats: back in California, one hopes.

I have finished the fourth chapter of Blackout! After cooking a large dinner for everybody, making my Rock Band 3 character, processing some edits, writing two bios, recording a children's show about vegetables, and chopping up ALL THE THINGS. Basically, I am Superwoman.

I am in Seattle. Seattle is a good place to be.

Now, back to Midnight Blue-Light Special!