Barring unforeseen circumstances, the first draft of the present work in progress will be finished this week, coming in at somewhere between 110,000 and 120,000 words. I started it last November. This is faster than usual for me, especially since it includes two research weeks in Venice. Sometimes books happen quickly. Often they're the better for that I think.

For the sake of record I thought I ought to put down a few things I've noticed about this closing stage of the process.