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I didn't realize I'd been writing it on and off for a year, but I hope to finish my cozy narrowboat mystery either this week or the next. All that remains is the wrap up.
I've been kind of writing it around MDZS, which is why it's taken so long. I didn't mean to write anything for MDZS and the next thing I knew I had 80k words or whatnot, but it's meant that the cozy had to take the back foot.
Now, however, I'm closing in on the end of the first draft, and I see that I have in fact got a finished book on my hands.
Only the first draft, of course. It needs a little while to rest before I can begin a first major edit - fitting the journey to the waterways, remembering everyone's names and the names of their boats, and settling on the final form of the quarrel between Susan and Emily.
In that resting time, I'm going to continue the world-building and plotting on the cozy Fantasy I will be writing next, with the plan to start a first draft of that before I go back to editing The Boat of Small Mysteries.
Thanks to my 7+ years of writer's block, I've realized that I stall out, badly, when I come to the end of a writing project and have nothing else to move on to. So this time I'm attempting to close the gap between one book and the next until there is a seamless transition between them.
I would like to touch wood and say that my long period of being unable to write is over. I need to mind the gap rather than falling into it. Wish me luck!
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Date: 2026-01-06 04:24 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2026-01-06 07:38 pm (UTC)From:Thank you! Well, I'll have to move on to my backup novel now, as I've finished the first. So now I need a new backup for the backup :)
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Date: 2026-01-06 04:29 pm (UTC)From:On a much different scale I know this stalling out after finishing a story well enough. My to-go way usually is preparing a drawer fic that draws me in already during the last stages of the main story, to skip me over - something to write just for the fun of it and for enjoying myself. It used to work well for me, until I managed to get all of my writing into a big mess I still haven't sorted out yet. But writing just with the goal to enjoy myself is what still helps me most.
I need to mind the gap rather than falling into it.
Heh, that puts it perfectly! ^^
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Date: 2026-01-06 07:23 pm (UTC)From:Thank you so much for the dolmen. That will look great in the garden :)
I think the idea of a drawer fic is a great one. My main problem lately was that I didn't really feel a desire to write anything. I didn't have enough passion for anything to have a passion project. That's still sort of true, but I have a mild interest in the cozy fantasy and that can turn into something with enough nurturing.
Good luck with turning your mess into a sleek fast-moving machine again!
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Date: 2026-01-06 08:00 pm (UTC)From:Spitting over my left shoulder for you. (Estonian thing :P )
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Date: 2026-01-06 09:02 pm (UTC)From:In the eye of the devil? (That's why we throw salt over the left shoulder in the UK.) Either way, thank you!
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Date: 2026-01-10 01:04 am (UTC)From:And you can't spit over the right shoulder because the guardian angel is supposed to be there.
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Date: 2026-01-07 03:36 am (UTC)From:*knock wood*, but I'm delighted to hear that the writer's block seems to be over. Best of luck with the moving from one project to another helping to keep it far, far away!
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Date: 2026-01-07 08:55 am (UTC)From:Thank you! Yes, I finished it yesterday afternoon, so now it's time to firm up the cozy fantasy a bit more (and give it a title!)
I'm a lot happier working at the 500 words a day pace than I was back when I was writing 2000 words a day without fail. Hopefully there is some thinking time built in :)
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Date: 2026-01-08 05:47 am (UTC)From:And hooray for the draft being finished! :D