GRRM's worst offense was lying to his audience and stringing them along.
So I'll be honest. I'm about 6 months behind my original schedule, and the twin demands of medicine, and publicity are still proving disruptive.
@BrandSanderson recently remarked on the dangers of having one's first novel be a hit. The problem is that an author with one novel under his belt hasn't solidified his writing process and habits very much yet, and a sudden influx of public attention, expectations, demands on time, etc, can be disruptive to solidifying that process.
Couple that with "wife has cancer", and... it's been tough.
I am very much feeling what Sanderson talked about.
But I am aware of the problem, and have made strides in understanding that process, and in making changes to accommodate it despite the other demands on me.
Progress has been slow... but it is slowly speeding up again.
Here's what I have:
- The entire story is mapped out in detail, start to finish.
- The manuscript is sitting at about 106,000 words as of today, although some of this is summary and old notes which will have to be scrapped. For comparison, ToF was 154,000 words. This does NOT mean I am 68% done, but it does mean a large body of work is complete.
- I'm writing at least a little bit every day. Some days are good, some not so much, but if I keep moving in one direction, which I am doing, I will eventually reach the end.
- The one thing I'm satisfied with is the quality. I think, overall, that the prose I am writing is a significant improvement over Theft of Fire. I've spotted and quashed several first-novel habits in my writing.
- The story is a good deal more intricate. I recently spent three hours relating the whole thing aloud to my editor, @fyrewede , and I'll let her give whatever spoiler-free reaction she wishes, in the comments.