Hi all. I’m changing my naming scheme here because this isn’t a proper update on the series. Anyone who has been following my updates will notice that this is more than a day late and is arriving immediately after an update in which I mentioned that I’d been stalled in writing due in part to the failing health of a family member. That family member died later in the day that my last post went live. As a result, my last week has been spent 1,600 miles away from my writing computer helping family prepare for the funeral and grieving. So, as may be obvious by now, nothing got done on the book last week.

I have to say, writing is a strange pursuit. When I’ve had a rough day at work, writing is often the thing that brings me joy and replenishes my confidence in moving forward, both with my day job and my series. When my daughter has been especially challenging and I just need a moment to think, writing is the thing that gives me space to breath. Writing is a task that has always brightened the difficulties of my life. And yet, in the past week, I haven’t been able to put two words together in a coherent way, even when I wasn’t actively engaged in other tasks. This is where writing should thrive, giving me the skills to record my grief and repurpose it into the experience of a character to add depth and draw connections that feel real enough to bring tears to the eyes of some readers. One day I’m sure I will. But as we so frequently misquote Viggo Mortenson’s immaculate portrayal of the best of human kings: Today is not that day.

I’m diving back in this evening with an eye to finishing this draft of the book a couple months later than originally intended. I don’t expect the next couple weeks of work to be my best, but I’ll be following the one piece of generalized writing advice I truly believe applies to everyone. You can’t edit a blank page. Here’s to fewer blank pages and more editing to come.