I’m facing a dark and confusing time with this project.

I finished the second draft of the third book in the Fate of the Qhami trilogy on May 31, 2022. My complete second draft journey spanned 51 months and over 400,000 words. Finishing felt like a triumph and I was sure I could carry that momentum into the next phase: editing and revising Book One.

Only I didn’t.

The first book needed substantial revisions. I mapped out a refreshed outline and even though I was now behind my intended schedule, I knew where I was going. Now I just had to keep meeting my daily word count.

Only I didn’t.

I spent weeks struggling with two opening scenes. I fell asleep at my keyboard numerous times. I pivoted and wrote those scenes from a first-person POV instead of close third, hoping that mixing things up would break me out of my funk.

Only it didn’t.

Now it’s been five months and my production has plummeted. In fairness, other obligations ate most of my summer and sapped my available brain power and having a small child at home makes me much more likely to fall asleep at night when I want to be writing. But even now that my proverbial plate has less on it, I’m still struggling to move forward. For the time being, I have moved to a different project not set in the Qhami at all. It pains me to postpone a project I love and believe in but I’ve got to make a change. Is it the right change?

Only time can tell.