The notion of progress meters would seem self-explanatory, and that would be mostly correct. However, there are some differences, and I thought I would explain for those who are interested.

The biggest difference in progress meters is driven by the differences in genre. I primarily write in the Regency England historical fiction genre, and the fantasy fiction genre, two spaces that have some similarities, but a lot of differences. The main difference, of course, is the world in which the stories take place. Regency England is a historical place and time, with consistent mores and facts that can be verified. We know, for example, of the events that occurred in that period of time, which include the Napoleonic wars, the assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, the Luddite rebellions, among others. We can also speak to the customs of the time, including such concepts as propriety.

That does not exist in a fantasy world. Or, at least it is not verifiable by any measure other than to ask the author or read what has been written. Fantasy worlds are entirely literary creations, and must be built from the ground up. This includes customs, places, history, geography, and at times even species.

Where this impacts progress meters the most is in what I call the world-building phase of creating a fantasy world, and in the outlining phase of writing. Outlining in particular is a task that I find runs very hot and cold. I might outline the first 15 chapters of a book, have no idea where to go from there, and then come back to it six months later and completely outline the rest of the story in two days. It’s funny that way, but that is how it works. World building is similar, though it is a much more time-consuming task.

By contrast, writing tends to be more even. I do not make progress writing every day, but most days I will at least do a little. Thus, a frequent check of a writing progress meter will generally see pretty constant increases, or at least it will in my main writing project at any given moment. I count my progress on writing by the chapter and will update the meter after each is complete. Keep in mind that my outline might not always equal the end number of chapters in a story. I often combine chapters, and conversely, I might separate a chapter into two if I find there is too much material to fit it all into one. That will, of course, affect the percentages in the completion meter, leading to a sudden increase or decrease.

Outlining meters, however, might sit for days, weeks, or even months before they see increases. And world-building is similar, but likely with more steady progress. Then again, it’s really tough to determine when a world is sufficiently built to allow outlining to commence, so those meters might not be entirely accurate either.

I will always try to include meters for those projects for which I believe I will have steady progress. But life sometimes gets in the way, and a project will sometimes grow cold. When that happens, I turn my attention to something else to keep myself busy. At times, I might also include projects that I believe will be significant, or one about which I am excited and wish to share. If there is any project you find interesting and are desperate for updates, you can always contact me to get the most recent news, though it might not be what you wish to hear.

One other thing to note is that most of the meters are for projects that are in the writing stage. Thus, when the meter hits 100%, the writing has been completed on that project. I tend to be very quick in going from writing, through editing and formatting, to publishing, generally about 2 months or so. I may also do countdowns or other such media for upcoming releases. It is best to remember, unless I otherwise state the counter is for an outline, etc., that the project does not get published for some time after it hits 100%

If you have made it to the bottom of this explanation, I commend you! See my home page for the list of projects I currently believe have sufficient progress to include.