I'm through chapter 31, just a bit of finalizing to do. However, I'm debating if I should have a little chapter from the Rainier POV between 29 and 30. It's just a bit of reflection on how events have not been kind to him and some self-doubt. Now that I say what's in it, I'm less inclined to add it, hmmm.... Maybe I'll skip it and see if it seems needed later.

Hopefully, 31 will go down tonight and I can get to 32 and 33 which gets me to another big plot event.

As I have passed the halfway point in terms of my desired word count, I now am getting nervous about running over in getting to the end. There is at least one major plot cut I'm going to make, but I'm not sure it will be enough. I think I'll have to look at the beginning chapters (1 - 12) to see if I can compress the plot there too. Balancing detail, plot, and word count is going to be tough.

Personally, although I'm not a very successful writer, the few times I became worried about my wc I rushed important points and etc. I would write what I needed and pare later. YMMV.

Well, my rough draft was 180k and I'm trying to hit 120k. I've done a lot of cutting in this revision so far, but I think I'll still come up long.

Just popping in to say, GO TEAM GUD!! Way to write, man! Kudos to you for sticking to it.

Thanks!

I'm done with 31 (for now) and onward to 32 where maybe I'll use a couple of snatches of dialogue from my rough draft. Maybe.

Unforeseen events conspired to minimize writing time, however I did manage to get 32 part way done. Hopefully, I will have more time this week to make some real progress.

I'm getting a concerned that the amount of plot and the speed of events is going to make the novel too shallow unless I use an unpublishable word count. OTOH, the odds of getting published aren't all that great so maybe I'll make a longer version anyhow after I make one of submittable length. OTOOH, the exercise of trimming and adding a bit more depth strategically to keep my word count low enough might make for the best result.

I want to get this rewrite done so I can see where I stand and make those strategic choices.

Also, since November is over with, we shall see if beta exchange person 1 will return as promised. I suspect not, but I could be surprised.

I still have some work to do on 32 to get it all cleaned up. Chapter 33 is progressing pretty well, it might run a bit long compared to the other chapters. I'm at 75k words, 45k word budget left, that suddenly seems very small.

I also need to do a critique. It's a short chapter so maybe I can knock it out tonight. I fear I'll get my chapter back from my beta exchange person before I've even looked at hers. There's never enough time.