Word Count: 4940.

It's going to be 9000 words in rough draft, but there is a lot of fat for me to trim. Writing The Hellion Prince has made me prone to stylistic excess in my verbiage, which works for the decadent, baroque feel of the novel, but is the antithesis of what I am trying here.

And I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have a lot of words left, but I know what they are. I'll be able to finish it tonight. And it's working for me.

Word count: 6400.

Ugh. Tough call, but I think right now the story is going to benefit from me getting four hours of sleep more than me soldiering on in caffeine-addled dementia through the climactic scenes. Betas, sorry for the delay. I will get the finished product to you ASAP tomorrow, hopefully before noon, and will not expect feedback in less than the initially-promised 24 hours (though if you can get it to me more quickly, that would be great -- but I'd rather have a thorough review Sunday afternoon than a rushed one Saturday night).

Wordcount: 7600.

LAST CALL FOR BETA-READERS, if anyone else is interested. I expect to be sending this out at 2 or 3 PM, about 9000 words of flavorful dark fantasy. Working title, unless or until my betas have something better for me, is The Shepherd's Rule, and it's ( cut for brief, spoilery summary )

I need to cut between two and three thousand words of it by Monday, and there's a lot of world-building weirdness, so more veteran beta-readers are always appreciated. It will not be going up on my journal once it is done, as the electronic rights will hopefully no longer be mine, so for my usual reading crowd, remember that beta-ing this may be your only chance to see it for a long time.

Word Count: 8800.

Wrestling with the end of the climax and the denouement. My deepest apologies to my faithful betas, but ETA is now 7-8 PM. Life is also throwing scheduling obstacles in my way. As noted before, I'm still happy to give you a full day for a thorough sweep - it just means I won't likely have time to send it out to you for a second review.

I have to admit, there's a big part of me that still cannot believe that I have actually managed this wordcount in this timeframe. That little critical voice all artists of any stripe have thought that it would take me years to achieve this sort of output, if ever. That voice has received a body blow. I would never have attempted this now if not for receiving this challenge. I'm strongly considering shifting my daily quota upward again when all this is done.

I am also, very definitely, still willing to offer commissioned fiction of any length up to 10k at a rate of 5 cents per word. If there are any interested takers feeling charitable, who want anything from drabble-length on up, let me know. I'll have it done within a day + 1 day per thousand words. And if my current story is a representative sample, then i firmly believe any customers/patrons/donors will get their money's worth.

Done. Wordcount: huge and uncertain.

Megan is typing up the handwritten ending now. Should be in your inboxes in about an hour, definitely in under two. Sorry about the string of delays, guys.

Wordcount: 10,300.

Sent off to betas. What a monster. Trimming 3300+ words off this story won't be easy, but it is do-able (and the story will benefit).

Tomorrow sometime I will post that filtered post I mentioned with world-building, plot, and character details that seem interesting or relevant. And I'll let you know when my editing is through and I have submitted the story for approval.

In the meantime, rest.