Back to work at last!

Okay, so we’re back in the U.S., living in Seattle — not our permanent home, just a rental while we house-hunt, but more settled than we’ve been all year. After weeks of taking care of address changes, opening new accounts, and so on I have finally gotten back to work. I spent most of today working on Tom Derringer — reviewing Tom Derringer in the Tunnels of Terror (#2 in the series), revising the first fifty pages of Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians (#3), and working out some plot elements in Tom Derringer and the Electrical Empire (#4), which is only up to page 7.

It’s a start.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 8/31/18

Last actual wordage added: 8/31/18

Pages added, 8/31/18: 1

Current page count: 81

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 20,417

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Oh boy. My last report on this one was on New Year’s Eve?

The astute observer (should one exist here) will notice that this got 13 pages/3,000 words shorter. That happened several months ago, actually; I decided the plot had taken a wrong turn and backed up to fix it. Almost immediately thereafter I got busy getting our house ready to sell, and I haven’t gotten any writing done on this since. (I did write two short stories, but no novel writing.) That was partly because I knew my old path was wrong, but didn’t necessarily know the right one.

Well, the house has been on the market about six weeks now (and I wish someone would buy it already) and I’m pretty much caught up on other stuff, so I decided it was time to get back to this, and I think I know where the story goes next, so here we are.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 12/31/17

Last actual wordage added: 12/31/17

Pages added, 12/31/17: 4

Current page count: 94

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 23,470

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Finished Chapter Nine, started Chapter Ten. Tom has been forced to accept a change in plans.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 12/29/17

Last actual wordage added: 12/29/17

Pages added, 12/29/17: 3

Current page count: 90

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 22,742

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Skipped at least one progress report. I’m nearing the end of Chapter Nine. Teddy is explaining something to Betsy, Tom, and Peter.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress Report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 10/12/17

Last actual wordage added: 10/12/17

Pages added, 10/12/17: 3

Current page count: 73

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 18,296

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Finished Chapter Seven, started Chapter Eight. Tom has not yet seen any dinosaurs, but he heard something strange moving around in the dark before dawn.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress Report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 10/11/17

Last actual wordage added: 10/11/17

Pages added, 10/11/17: 3

Current page count: 70

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 17,655

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Tom and friends have made camp beneath a cliff. I’m near the end of Chapter Seven, and the steam-powered saurians of the title will be encountered for the first time in Chapter Eight.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress Report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 10/5/17

Last actual wordage added: 10/5/17

Pages added, 10/5/17: 3

Current page count: 67

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 16,822

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: I didn’t bother to post a progress report when I wrote a single page a week or so back.

Tom, Betsy, and Peter are out in the wilderness east of Ogden (and west of Woodruff). They haven’t found anything yet.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress Report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered SauriansTom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 9/21/17

Last actual wordage added: 9/21/17

Pages added, 9/21/17: 2

Current page count: 63

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 15,653

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Finished Chapter Six, started Chapter Seven. Tom, Betsy, and Peter Cartwright are gathering before dawn to start on their way.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress Report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered SauriansTom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 8/15/17

Last actual wordage added: 8/15/17

Pages added, 8/15/17: 2

Current page count: 60

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 15,062

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Went back and re-read and revised pieces to make sure my unplanned plot twist didn’t contradict anything prior. Added an all-new page as well as enough scattered earlier bits to extend what had gone before by a page.

Tom, Betsy, and Peter Cartwright are making plans.

Work in Progress: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Progress Report: Tom Derringer & the Steam-Powered SauriansTom Derringer & the Steam-Powered Saurians

Last time looked at: 8/14/17

Last actual wordage added: 8/14/17

Pages added, 8/14/17: 3

Current page count: 58

Estimated final page count: 250

Current word count: 14,752

Deadline: None. Will be self-published.

Comments: Got back to work on this partly so as not to focus entirely on Elfshot. (You haven’t yet seen any progress reports on that one.) I’ve been busily working out plot and background and characters for Elfshot, but I don’t want to get obsessed with it and neglect other stuff.

I went back through all of Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians, did some minor revisions (largely to get Peter Cartwright’s voice more consistent, but also to get the timeline straight and match what was really happening in 1884), then finally got past where I’d been stalled for months.

And I surprised the hell out of myself with a heretofore-unplanned plot twist. I think that somewhere in the back of my head I knew this was coming, which is why I was stuck on page 55 for so long, waiting for this to emerge. Peter Cartwright, originally intended to be a very minor character, looks as if he’ll be taking on a much larger role.

Good to be moving forward again!

(And by the way, I assume everyone reading this knows that Tom Derringer in the Tunnels of Terror is out.)