Volume Four Update: Over The Hump Edition

Four is a pretty important number in music - the 4/4 time signature, the Four Chords of Awesome, the Fab Four. There are also a lot of famous foursomes in fiction: the four houses of Hogwarts, the Fantastic Four, the four quadrants of the galaxy in Star Trek, the four main villages of Spectraland, the four...oh, but wait, this isn't an essay about the number four. This is a Volume Four status update!

At the time of the last update three months ago, I was at 28,000 words and said that "I stand an outside chance of finishing the first draft sometime before the holidays." Now, I don't really believe in jinxes anymore (except when it comes to watching professional sports - speaking of which, holy pigskin, Batman, it's football season again), but soon after I said that, some changes in my life occurred which made finding time to write a bit more challenging. Nothing bad or major, mind you, but nevertheless, it did throw a wrench into my normal schedule.

So at first, I'll admit, I was flailing a little. Volume Four went untouched for a while as I tried to adjust. I knew that somehow I needed to find a way to get back to it. I found myself wishing I had a Time-Turner or a TARDIS or a DeLorean or a Power Glove, which was funny because - sneak preview alert! - there's a time-travel element to the plot of Volume Four.

But since I couldn't find any of those things, I had to resort to more down-to-earth techniques. I used one that I had previously employed called "writing in my head." I made adjustments to my attitude and my personal routines. I brought in special guests, from this plane of existence as well as others, to fill in on this blog. I sacrificed a few personal enjoyment activities that were basically just self-indulgent time-wasters, like watching the last episode of Doctor Who's season 10 over and over and over again (although I still managed to binge-watch the new Tick, which is hilarious and amazing - the show, that is, not the fact that I binge-watched it). And really, I just kind of doubled down on the self-discipline.

As a result, I was able to mostly get back on track, and so now the first draft of Volume Four stands at - insert drum roll here - a healthy 44,444 words (kidding - it's actually 45,275). I passed the halfway mark in the story outline, which officially puts me over the hump. Finishing the draft before the holidays as I had previously hoped will be a stretch, but the main thing is that it hasn't been derailed altogether. With any luck, I'll be able to finish it before the end of the year, which still puts me comfortably ahead of schedule. That said, though, I would like a time machine anyway, mainly so I can watch "The Doctor Falls" a few more times (I've only memorized about 85% of the dialogue). Can someone help me out with that?