Chapter 5 Posted!

Chapter 5 has finally been posted to Fanfiction.net, and emailed to EqD so that it can be updated there. This chapter took quite some time for me to write, but I am thoroughly pleased with how it turned out. Thank you again to Beige Monkfish for pre-reading for me.

JamesBob: if you're still interested in joining the pre-reading team, I would love to have you on board. Just let me know the best way to contact you. If you don't feel comfortable posting an e-mail address here, feel free to contact me at Zephariel2005(at)aol(dot)com. FoxOfWar and Ddude28, if you guys are still interested then I would love to welcome you both on board, as well. I know you guys had offered a while back, but like I said in one of my posts I didn't want to just bombard you guys with e-mails asking for pre-reads after so much time had passed.


Now, onto the chapter discussion. I wanted to use this chapter to bring some other elements in to deepen the mystery (the door, for example), and to also set the stage to introduce the one missing main character. Overall it was an interesting chapter to write. There were some points where I would start with a small idea and then just keep typing as the idea expanded on the spot, and then other points where I would have to wrack my brain just to get half a page written. I ended up changing dialogue, reworking some scenes, and even completely re-writing one scene throughout the course of the chapter's creation. All-in-all, though, I'm very pleased with how the chapter turned out, and I hope you are too. Until next time!

To My Volunteer Pre-Readers

I wanted to check with you guys and/or gals to make sure you were still up for the idea of pre-reading for me. It's been a while since you offered your services, so I wanted to make sure that you were still okay with it. If so, just comment on this post, or shoot me an e-mail at Zephariel2005(at)aol(dot)com. I'm doing some self-editing on chapter 5 right now, but I'll hold off on submitting to to FFNet and EqD for another day or so just in case.

Chapter 5 COMPLETED!!!

Yes fillies and gentlecolts you read that right! Chapter 5 is completed! Of course, there is still the pre-reader phase. I think this very well may be the longest chapter in the story thus far.

Chapter 5 Update, Part II

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am, in fact, still alive and writing. I know I set a goal of having the chapter done by the end of last weekend, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I'm still plugging away at Chapter 5, and I have managed to complete the majority of it--I'd say about 75 - 80%. Admittedly, it was a rough chapter to get started, but now things seem to be flowing a lot easier, so the chapter should be ready to go to my pre-readers by sometime Friday at the latest. Beyond this it should get easier, since I have a lot of the story that takes beyond this point better organized in my head. We'll see, though, since I've already made several changes during the writing process. Anyway, I just wanted to throw this quick update out there and let you all know that I am still here.

Update: Status of Chapter 5

I figured it would be a good idea to post this up for those of you looking for information on chapter 5. I started writing the chapter on the plane ride back from Florida, and basically just kept writing until my laptop's battery died. They really should find a way to put power outlets on airplanes, but I digress...

Ever since I got back from Florida, I have not had a single moment to breathe. Between the holiday weekend (and all of the family gatherings/cookouts that come with it), getting up to speed with both of my jobs, and getting to work on my long-overdue thank you cards for my graduation gifts, I have barely gotten a chance to work on the chapter since the plane ride. I had hoped to get most of it done at my second job this evening, since we are usually dead in the summer (I proctor exams at the local community college). Of course we would be busy tonight. In addition to that, it seems my co-workers did not bother to check the office voice mail for the past week and a half, so it fell on me to sift through all of the messages and return the calls. Add in the exams that no one bothered to print from the morning shift, dealing with unscheduled students coming in for exams that are supposed to be by appointment only due to excessive set-up times (we aren't actually allowed to turn them away if they don't have an appointment), and a ridiculous student flow...well, I don't think I need to point out that I didn't get any time up until this point. I have about twenty-five minutes before closing, and everything has finally settled down, so I'm going to get some writing done before the end of my shift. Hopefully I can get this chapter done before I go to the ocean this coming weekend; if not, well, I should have plenty of peace and quiet down there, so I should be able to finish it during that time. The problem is that I won't have internet access down there, so I'd have to wait until Monday to send it to my pre-readers.

Anyway, that's about the gist of what's been going on. I didn't want anyone to think that I had abandoned the story or anything like that; it's just been one big mind-screw after another since I came back to town. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to sharing chapter 5 with you all!