A little update, as posted today at
http://alextfish.livejournal.com/tag/mermaid%20liaisons. I'm generally making postings there, but this one was significant enough that I thought I'd copy it here:
I finished one route through Chapter 5 by the end of February! Current status of the six chapters:
Chapter 1: 6000 words, 95%, 1 scene to finish (slightly changed from the demo)
Chapter 2: 9500 words, 85%, 4 scenes to add/finish
Chapter 3: 10500 words, 95%, 1 scene to finish
Chapter 4: 9000 words, 70%, several scenes to do
Chapter 5: 11000 words, 70%, several scenes to do
Chapter 6: Starting today!
The plans for the coming months:
March: Write Chapter 6. Have one or preferably two routes through Chapter 6, including the one route that has a chunk of extra plot, finished by end of March. (Est. 10000 words)
April: Fill in most of the gaps and still-to-write sections. (Est. 10000 words) Get the script into Ren'Py and bugfixed and directed by end of April.
May: Fill remaining script gaps. Write and debug the combat engine. Create and debug the CG gallery. Playtesting and editing. Release the game by end of May!
Thank you very much to Musashi for the encouraging comments!