Overtaken by Current Events

This is exactly why I have so far avoided writing about the Middle East. The geopolitical situation of the region can abruptly shift direction.

Almost a quarter through Book #4 (still no title yet), and current events are already out dating my story. I've just finished the first act, which details Avery's mission into ISIS-held Syria, and then the news came that ISIS has lost the last of its territory in Syria. Then there's the news that tensions are heating up between Saudi Arabia and Iran after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh. The Saudi-Iranian proxy conflict in Yemen is the focus of the middle act of this book.

Something similar nearly happened when I was writing VIPER, when FARC suddenly announced a ceasefire, but I was able to work those events into the story.

Instead of rushing the book into publication or re-working the story entirely, which is potentially a waste of time as new developments in the region can swiftly make obsolete any revised plot anyway, I think the best recourse is to keep my story set within a very specific time period. This means once I've completed the novel and it's published next year, you'll be reading a story set one year in the past. 

Sean Mcfate has done with this with both of his books, SHADOW WAR and DEEP BLACK, perhaps for this very reason.

This is admittedly a First World Problem. The collapse of the Islamic State's physical caliphate is certainly welcome news, especially for a very troubled country and the unfortunate people living there, though its debatable if these people will be any better off under Assad's governance.