Way Walkers

So, i met the NaNo challenge a few days early this year, coming in at 50,700-sum words respectively. The vast majority of that was in WW:U3, which i added over double the amount of words to, bringing it from 32k to nearly 74k. Of course, i didn’t finish a single scene though, but i got a major head start with all the structuring and have more than half the scenes started, and several close to done.  Now toward the end of the last week, i did switch over back to working on the third novel in the Tazu Saga. My goal is to have that DONE when the second book in that series comes out (hopfully late winter early spring next year) thusly freeing me up to work on WW:U3 again for the camp NaNo in April.

wish me luck!

So I’m plugin along in NaNoWrMo, (National Novel Writing Month for those unawares) and i’m kicking it’s butt. I’m at nearly 39k out of the 50k goal, with another 12 days to go. All most everything i’ve done has been on WW:U3, whose word count has gone from 32k to 66k so far this month.

So what’s this mean?

Whelp, i’m getting a lot done– but there’s tons left to do. A lot of the work accomplished has been me getting the plot back in gear and making skeletons of scenes, but there’s a whole lot to go. Honestly, with what i’ve actually structured in front of me right now, i’m thinking at least another 100k in word count minimum. And that’s not counting the climaxes and endings. An average CoG now a days is around 250k words, and right now, i’m thinking WW:U3 might hit 300k without much effort.

And I still have the third (and then 4th) Tazu Saga books to finish then start.

So i’m just letting you guys know i’m hopeful, i’m excited, i’m working overtime, and i’ve absolutely no idea how long i’ll be before i’m done. >.<

Happy reading,

J. Leigh

…but im just so ruddy busy. >.<

Fall clean up at the house (imagine an actual delivered dumpster full of stuff from the garages plus mountains of brush), Halloween party prep (six carved pumpkins a halloween gingerbread house and idk how much food and decorations), beading inventory replenishing, a funeral (husbands grandmother), sick, halloween mask contest for my art students, and just trying to live somewhere in between it all. Thus has been my last three weeks.

At yet, through it all, i’ve been compiling. Writing notes, making skeletons of scenes, fixing plot holes and over all setting the stage for you guessed it, NanoWriMo. once again, i shall brace my poor hands and sanity to endeavor to write 50,000 words in a month. The goal, my friends, if to either take a big chunk out of the massive monster that is WWU:3, or finish entirely the third novel of the Tazu Saga. Or both.

Wish me luck, my friends– as i’m also hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. XD

~J. Leigh

So, not a lot in the way of heavy word count, since I’ve been working on the craft fair stuff. We actually did really good this past Saturday at our first fair, despite very cold weather and a low turn out. We’ve another in a few weeks, so i have to replenish inventory and have some more meetings with my business partner. My family has also started to do fall clean up at our house, cleaning up the yard and finally working on emptying the two large back buildings on the property as well as the attic and basement. Lot of heavy lifting. In between all of this i’m decorating for Halloween– yay! In my element! Seriously, i should be kept away from all stores during this time of year….i’m not to be trusted.

Book front:

Tazu saga: The new cover for the next book, Broken City is out! 😀 I’m really thrilled with it. No clear word on a release date, hopefully early next year. 😉 Book three for that is still getting picked at, bit by bit.

Way Of The Red: Still on hold.

Way Walkers University 3: Again, not a lot in the way of high word counts, but got a bit of structure stuff done on the surprise party. That’s going to be the dance of this book, i can tell >.<; Also, Semryu has no shame. XD

Clan Lands Saga: This is the original 12-book monster whose first three books are sitting on my hard drive. Every now and again i got back and pick at it, and it did a little on this last week. Tons to fix. But i hope it will see the light of day someday.

~ j. leigh

Tazu Saga:

The content edit notes came back, and then i tossed mine back again, so now content is all done. Book is officially in the que for line editing, but it’s apparently a busy time of the year and RAP is doing very well, so not expecting it to get to line editing in 2015. Which means release will definitely be no sooner than spring 2016. Did get the first draft of the new cover though, and i gotta say, it’s going to be spectacular. 😉

Book three in that series is now above 110k, slowly plodding along. Few plot hole issues at the end i need to sort. Hoping to keep it under 150k. Might save the big push to finish this for Nano in November.

WW:U3

Made some pretty big progress last week on the outline of the book as a whole. Illyan plot seems to be set, so now i just have to buckle down and write the thing. Will need to add in a few more social scenes and class stuff. While this makes me more hopeful that this can get done, its still a very, very big job. I’m not anticipating a quick finish.

Way of the Red (WoR)

Still in a holding pattern waiting on MJ. Scribbling a few notes here and there when i think of things.

Reading:

Erica Lucke Dean’s Splintered Souls. really, read this, really. SO GOOD.

CoG– “A Wise Use of Time”. A fun one. Recommended.

Home front:

Started teaching again. Glad to be back with the kids, but my back is starting to get upset again. Might need to resort to wearing the brace in class. Ick.  My hands and wrists are doing well. Hope that continues. Also been beading up a storm– my coffee table is covered in beading stuff on one side and Way Walkers notes on the other. XD First big craft fair is on Oct 3rd– only doing a few this year.

Otherwise, I’m doing well. Fall clean up in the yard has been interesting, and my dog an i have been enjoying the cooler weather with long walks. I’m also tempted to buy all of the pumpkin spiced things.

~ J. Leigh

As promised, this is me trying to update more often. 😉

Tazu Saga:

I finished the content edit notes for the second book last week and kicked it back to my content editor. Waiting on them to come back.

Book three in that series got a few tweaks, i think i added about 1k words. Not much, but important stuff.

WW:U3

Got an outline for the first chapter of the story. Precognition class, followed by deciding on a course of action for dealing with Illyan, followed by a birthday party, followed by recruiting help for said illyan-plan. After that, it gets hazy. XD however, i’m fleshing out those early scenes and getting back into the rhythm of *choicescript writing. good times.

Way of the Red (WoR)

In a holding pattern waiting to touch base again with MJ. Scribbling a few notes here and there when i think of things.

Reading:

Decided to add this for fun. Read through two RAP books by Erica Lucke Dean– To Katie with Love and Suddenly Sorceress. Recommended if you like romantic comedies in book form. Good stuff. Also picked up CoGs “So you’re Possessed” and “A Wise Use of Time”. Haven’t read Time yet, but Possessed was a fun little romp. Little limited with the replay value, but the story so far has been very creative, and i’m likely to pick up the sequel when it comes out. Recommended.

Home front:

To be honest, its been a rough couple of weeks, with a lot of ups and downs. Trying to gather myself before i start teaching classes again next week. Also doing heavy beading work for the craft fair season which will officially start for me and my partner on Oct 3. Hoping my wrists will hold out, but over all my pain’s been MUCH better since the early summer. (part of why i’ve been writing so much more again– yay!)

~ J. Leigh

I’m going to try an make a habit of updating more often, especially when i have a productive day/week.

Tazu Saga:

Content edit notes for the second book came back pretty basic, so that work shall be sort and sweet. I’m already halfway through the first round of changes.

Book three in that series is on hold while i do content of two, standing at a healthy 109k words and climbing. this will be longer than 2, but shorter than 1, hopefully.

WW:U3

Created a new basic outline and scene structure for the Illyan plot line(s). it’s very basic, but i think it will solve some issues we were facing. still have many details to hash out. Wrote the first choice explanation for a scene today. Will fiddle with making more of a skeleton of that scene though out the week.

Way of the Red (WoR)

Had huge brainstorming session with MJ Rea last weekend. Worked out a new stats system, and nailed down the very basic plot and outlining structure. Decided on our ultimate ending as well as a few side ones. Started three skeletons of seances. Looking good.

Home front:

My husband finally caved and bought a weed whacker to trim the edges of our massive yard. This is a purchase he’s been neglecting for months, simply because he hates yard work. (not awesome with a massive yard) The fun of it is once he finally got out there with the thing, he was having so much fun he weed whacked our entire yard. That’s a double lot, a 1/4 an acre mostly grass which we went out with a weed whacker instead of a lawnmower. gotta love him. XD

~ j. leigh

So, summer is nearing an end. I’ve been working hard for most of it, adding nearly 50k to the third book in the Tazu Saga all while picking through my notes for WW:U3. And then going over them again. And again. And then searching. And then searching some more. And i have sadly, come to the conclusion that somewhere along the line in the last two years, an entire notebook detailing the circumstances surrounding Illyan Gesis’s mystery has gone completely missing. I have searched. I have brainstormed.

And i have no idea where this notebook is, nor the full of what was in it.

I have a general idea of course, a vague outline of what i’d planned, as well as the single ‘cannon ending’ which dictates which version of events affects the history of the Way Walkers novels, but a lot of the details are gone. Poof. Can’t recall them. Which means, as i’ve been dreading since beginning to work on WW:U3 again with MJ Rea, is i’ve got to rework a massive part of WWU:3.  I need to stress this is not an easy thing. I don’t remember where i was going with certain things, which means they might never be answered. I also have to try and sort where i think i might have been going with things from the clues i left behind– and try to recall what were red herrings and what weren’t. I’m hoping i can sort this in between finishing the third Tazu Saga book, so i can work on WW:U3 exclusively for nano this November.

Meanwhile, i have unshackled MJ from working on WW:U3 for the time being, as we keep going in circles not knowing what to do because of these lost notes. (we also delayed making updates and changes to the first two, b/c we didn’t know what would or wouldn’t effect the third’s plot) So, while i try to make sense of the mess, she shall begin work of Way Of the Red.

So, cards on the table: the absolute worst case is no WW:U3 ever, which i don’t think will happen. Most like it’s just going to get delayed more until i decide what i’d been planning, or find a way to narrow down the multitude of branching options into something more sane. I’m genuinely sorry for that, but i’m going to choose to put out nothing over putting out something terrible with plot holes and an overall lack of quality. If we’re lucky, you guys will get both WW:U3 and WoR around the same time. And if not, well at least you’ll get WoR sooner than later.

~j

We’re finally moved in. The bathrooms are done. most of the boxes are unpacked. There’s not a single room we’ve not touched in someway, and still this home will always have a project for us. But, for now, i can take a breath, take a rest, and crack open my laptop for the first time since January. In August, it will be two years since i’ve worked in earnest on WWU:3. In August, i plan to pick it up again. In the meanwhile i must gather my notes and outlines for the third book in the Tazu saga, as well as meet more with MJ to solidify our plans for the later half of the year. I’m having steroid injections into my back and neck in mid June, to fix the massive amount of pain ive been in since October in my back, and finally restore my hands from last year. I plan on doing camp Nanowrimo in July, to push myself back into what i love.

I must learn to write again.

~j. leigh

Everyone who has ever been through a renovation (or even just those who’ve watched a lot of HGTV or DIY network) will tell you to double your budget and triple your timeline. Well, i can attest to this, none more so than the timeline at current. I still haven’t got bathrooms, or new floors, but at least we’ve gotten first coats of paint done in two out of the five rooms that need painting. DX Fyy, peeling wallpaper is just as evil as everyone says it is. Really. So needless to say the amount of writing I’ve done has been zero to nill, and with my friendly neighborhood co-author running into her own brand of special delays including her own unexpected renovation, we are, sad to say, WAY behind in everything we’d planned to be doing with Way Walkers.

Its the price of life, i guess. I spent most of my time until three years ago writing and only writing, and now, well i have a lot. A husband. A house. A whole new set of aches and pains. XD

And a lot more to write about when the time comes. 😉

till then,
~j