Posts Tagged ‘mummy novel’

“Crawler:” Halfway Through the First Draft!!!

Posted: October 7, 2026 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Praise Anubis, Osiris, and Amun-Ra! After four years, I have finally reached this point!

So, if you’re unaware, let me explain. Back in 2022, after I had moved into my current home and needed a project to work on, I started a mummy novel tentatively called Crawler. The plot followed a mummy on a rampage in a small Ohio town. I got about eight chapters into what was then thirty before I had to put the novel on the back burner and work on something else. I thought, at most, I would be leaving Crawler alone for a couple of weeks. Maybe a few months.

It was four years. Yeah, it was four years. I have no excuses. I just kept finding other things to work on, and I kept meaning to get back to it, but I just never did.

Until this year, that is. When I finally decided I would get back to the novel and finish it. And then in July, right around the time I started the novel four years ago, I started working on it again. I went over the chapters I originally wrote, updating them as I went. And then, after those were edited, I started on new material. New chapters. Some I inserted into the narrative on the spur of the moment, thus expanding the story from thirty to thirty-four chapters.

And despite how crazy my life gets, and several nights where I had to be a responsible adult and take care of things at home rather than write, and God knows what else, I have been making steady progress. And as of last night, I have finished seventeen chapters. Meaning, unless I add more chapters on the spur of the moment, I am officially halfway through Crawler.

Honestly, I am ecstatic about this. There were times when I thought this book would languish, unfinished, for years and years. And when I finally got back to it, and there were nights where I couldn’t work on it for one reason or another, I wondered what the hell I was doing. But, maybe because I’m so damned stubborn, I persisted with it. And now, half the book is written, rather than just eight chapters.

And damn, it’s a lot of material, too! At the time I’m writing it, the page count (8.5″x11″, double-spaced, twelve-point font, Times New Roman) is 204, and the word count is 55,845. To say the least, this book is going to be a real doorstopper when it’s done. As long as Snake or Symphony for Walpurgis when it’s done (and those are some chunky books). I hope that doesn’t scare off potential publishers!

But that’s far in the future. In the meantime, I’m going to take a short break from Crawler. (Don’t worry, I don’t plan to let it grow into another years-long break.) And during that break, I’m going to work on some shorter stuff, including an essay that a friend of mine inspired me to write and which I hope to submit later this month. After that, assuming there’s nothing stopping me, I’ll get back to Crawler and hopefully finish it up.

I look forward to the day when I can make that announcement.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m going to brew a cup of tea, read a little, and then hit the hay. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Updates on “Crawler”

Posted: July 23, 2026 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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You know, I thought I would have this post out much sooner than this. But things have been busy these last two weeks. There’s been work, the Columbus Book Festival,* an article to write, and even submitting a short story for Bram Stoker consideration (if you didn’t know, that takes a lot more work than you know). All that slowed me down and kept me from working on my writing.

Oh, I may have also written a poem and a flash fiction piece on the spur of the moment. That took up an afternoon.

But I have finally done it. As of last night, I have finished going over all the chapters of Crawler I’ve previously written.

Now, if you didn’t know, Crawler is the tentative name of a mummy novel I started writing in 2022. I got about eight chapters in before stuff involving Hannah and Other Stories popped up and I had to put it on the back burner. And then, through various circumstances and lots of projects, four years passed. And I have not been happy with myself for letting it sit unfinished for so long.

That’s why I decided to make sure I got back to it this summer. And I’m happy to say, as of last night, I’m all caught up with the story thus far.

So, how is Crawler so far? Well, I knew in the four years there were things I would need to change. I even had a few ideas of what needed to change. However, even I was surprised by how many flaws I noticed. Granted, it’s a first draft, so flaws are par for the course. But there were quite a few parts where I was like, “What the hell? That makes no sense! Why would this or that character do something like that?”

I also ended up cutting a lot of sections that were unnecessary or rewriting others so they flowed better and didn’t stick out like sore thumbs. Or changed the characters’ motivations or feelings so they would fit better in the story. And my God, did I do so much work to make the timeline make more sense.

I guess it’s a sign of how much I’ve matured, both as a person and as a writer, in these four years. Then again, it has been four years, and a lot has happened. I’ve read lots of books, written and published lots of new stories, and had all sorts of experience. It’s natural I’ve learned a few tricks and gotten a bit better at writing stories. Not to mention noticing the issues my stories have before I let others see them.

So, what’s next? Well, obviously the next time I work on it, it’ll be the first time I’ve written new material for Crawler in four years. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also worried that it’ll take forever to get through the rest of the book. Hell, I’m worried it’ll take time just to get through a single chapter! Just the first eight are around thirty-six thousand words, or a decent-sized novella. Yeah, this book is going to be a doorstopper when it’s done.

And you never know what life will throw at you. For all I know, next week I could get told to edit something for publication, and spend a month just doing that!

Well, no reason to get worried about what might or might not happen. I’ll keep working on Crawler and hopefully make some good progress before the summer is out. Hell, maybe I’ll even be finished with it by the end of the year. I’m going to try and see if I can make it happen!

Anyway, that’s all for now. It’s late, I’m tired, and I have work tomorrow, so I should get ready for bed. Hopefully I have something to post about very soon. If not about Crawler, then maybe some good news or some thoughts on writing. You never know.

So, until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.

*BTW, this year I hit a new record. 51 books sold! I’ve never had such a successful festival before. Hopefully it’s not the last time I have such success, either.