Expanding the Draft: From Chapter 31 to 45!
I am so excited to finally share a huge progress update with you all! If you haven’t seen my latest post on Instagram yet, definitely go check it out—that milestone is the star of today’s blog post. Turning the page to a new section of this story feels incredible, and I’m so glad to have you along for the ride as this world continues to take shape.
Yup, we jumped from Chapter 31 all the way to Chapter 45—a massive 14-chapter leap in just two weeks! To be completely honest, these past two weeks threw plenty of unexpected challenges my way that slowed down my ideal pace. Otherwise, I would have had these chapters finished even sooner. But hey, life happens, and I’m not shaming myself for taking the time I needed. It happens to the best of us, and I’m choosing to trust the process and believe in a little bit of divine timing.
The first week, I was mainly writing in the mornings before work. I’d get up first thing to type out a few paragraphs, keep writing during my commute, and squeeze in a few more sentences right before clocking in. But that week hit us with a brutal heatwave, and I do not do well in extreme heat. Between working in a hot environment and the draining commute home, I was simply too exhausted to touch the manuscript in the evenings. By the time the weekend rolled around, my schedule was packed with community meetings, projects, and family events, so I couldn’t make much headway there either.
The second week followed a similar pattern. I stuck to my morning writing routine, but the workweek itself was exhausting and stressful due to some unexpected drama. I came home dealing with heavy burnout, and I just wasn't in the right mindset to create. When Saturday finally arrived, I knew I needed a dedicated reset day. I treated myself to a day out, ate my favorite meals, grabbed some boba tea, and spent time browsing my favorite bookstore. I didn't buy anything, but I gathered a list of books I can't wait to dive into once my own manuscript is finished. While there, I overheard a cashier talking about hosting local author signings. I couldn’t help but smile, picturing myself at that table in the near future. That moment was exactly the spark of inspiration I needed.
Refreshed and recharged, I jumped right back in on Sunday and finished the entire section! It turned out to be a mighty chunk of the story that took a very different turn from my original outline, but I’m so glad I pushed through. Now, I’m tackling the next section—or rather, combining two! If you noticed in my update, the section titled A Storm on The Horizon is fairly short, so I’m merging it with part of When The Heavens Break since that section is particularly thick.
Another hurdle I faced during these past two weeks was something I call "writer's inertia." It wasn't full-blown writer's block—the ideas were still flowing and the motivation was there—but for some reason, my fingers just wouldn't move across the keyboard. Looking back, I think the inertia hit because some of these middle chapters felt like "filler" at first. Feeling bored with my own writing made me overly critical of my work, which was a tough psychological hurdle to clear.
Despite those bumps in the road, I want to take a moment to celebrate a massive milestone: I am officially approaching the home stretch of this book! Having navigated through the thick middle chapters, the end is finally within sight. Even though there is still plenty of work left to do, I am so proud of how far this project has come. My brain is already jumping ahead to the next phase—thinking about beta readers, cover art, and the self-publishing process. I keep reminding myself to take it one step at a time, but keeping those future steps on my radar makes the whole process feel so real. Once the final chapters are locked in, I’ll be making big moves to bring this book into the world!
Thank you all so much for reading, following along, and supporting me through every bump and breakthrough on this journey. Your support keeps the fire lit!