Tag: zero draft

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zero drafts and idle hands

Yesterday I completed the zero draft for the third Blood Witch book. This is a pretty huge accomplishment, even if there is still a lot of work to do. This means I have all three in some state of “done” and it’s time to run back to the beginning with my notes of all the changes that need to be made in books one and two.

Of the three of these, I think the middle book came the easiest and there were a lot of times struggling through book three felt like I was trying to push my way through frozen molasses.

Book one is the most complete and polished. Three is the least.

I guess this is what comes of trying to write during the apocalypse. I am glad I didn’t push out book one when I thought it was done, because some of the changes and tweaks I need to make to better set up two and three will also make book one better.

I’ve settled on tentative titles, but realize that a publisher may suggest changes.

So where does that leave me, here on a Monday morning before the dawn? To be honest, I’m running through my packing list for Sirens in my head (still need to do meds/makeup/toiletries/electronics). I’d like to say I’m not going to poke any of the three books until after Sirens, but I won’t promise. After all, I can’t seem to sleep past 5am these days, and I need something to do with my hands.

But that does remind me that it’s Monday, and I have to stop working early to go get a COVID test, so it must be time to suck down some Death Wish Coffee, put on my tech writing cape and crown and get to it.

Have a wonderful Monday, Readers! Treat yourself with kindness and love.

Photo by I.am_nah on Unsplash

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what a week

Like most Americans, my attention has been firmly on our nation’s capitol this week, as law enforcement investigates the uprising at the capitol and congress worked to hold the president responsible for inciting that violence.

I’ll admit that it has not been great for my creativity or productivity!

That said, I did finish the zero draft of the second Blood Witch book over the weekend. Up next will be an editing pass to flesh out a few scenes and retrofit some story points that developed near the end.

For as long as I have been writing, my characters can still surprise me. Going into this book, I knew the plot points I wanted to hit, at least in the beginning and middle. The ending changed multiple times while I was writing, and a relationship developed between two characters along the way, which I now have to go back through and lay the breadcrumbs in.

There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with reaching the end of the book, even though I know there is still work to do. It was a victory I needed this week.

Now though, I need to finish my coffee and get on with the day job. I hope you are all safe and well, Readers and that you manage to find joy in these chaotic and dangerous times.

Cover Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

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words and witchery

This week I finished the zero draft of The Blood Witch!  It is currently in the hands of my first beta reader. No matter how many times I finish writing a book, it always comes with a thrill of accomplishment.

This book was born two years ago while at Sirens.  The main character, Thána Alizon, came to me fully whole.  I knew who she was, what her backstory was, and where the story would take her.  I wasn’t sure how we were going to get there, but that’s what the writing process is all about, getting from here to there.

Thána took a back seat for a while as I worked on another project, which got shelved last November when I decided to make The Blood Witch my nanowrimo project, just to see if I could get it up on its feet.

NANO was a success, pushing The Blood Witch to within spitting distance of the final climax and resolution.  December, however, when I wanted to be writing, there were a bazillion obligations and stresses that kept me from writing.  The same for January.  I guess the blessing in not working right now was that it afforded me the time to finish.  I wrote the last ten thousand words over the course of about two days.

Of course, writing a book is only the beginning.  The hard work comes after the last word is on the page.  There’s beta readers/critique partners who are the first to see the raw manuscript, a first edit pass, a second edit pass, then comes submission time, and this time around I plan on querying agents to try a more traditional publishing path, which I’ve never done, so I have no idea how long that will take.

Once the agent sells the book to a publisher, there’s another round or two of edits, cover design, etc.  It can take a year to go from purchased manuscript to a book out in the wilds.  The road is long, and the pay isn’t great, if you get paid at all, unless you manage to hit it big.

But, the satisfaction in finishing that zero draft is still there, even if it never sells.

Happy Thursday, Readers.  I’m out of coffee, so I guess that means it’s time to get some stuff done on the job hunting front.

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by the seat of my pants

I don’t think anyone who knows me would be surprised by the fact that I kind of fly by the seat of my pants when I write.  Oh, I usually have a few established plot points in mind when I start, some targets to hit along the way, but sometimes all I have is a character or an ending, and the rest comes along as I write.

Unsurprisingly, this usually means that I end up having to do some heavy editing once the first draft is done, and I already have a pretty lengthy list of things I need to go back and fix as I sit here around sixty thousand words on The Blood Witch.  Some things I fix on the fly, but most I just make note of and keep moving, so I don’t get trapped in an endless edit loop and never finish the zero draft.

For me, getting the story down is more important than getting it *right* the first time through.  I can edit and finesse and dress up later.  First I need to get the bare bones down.  Sure, I have some phrases and entire scenes that come out perfect the first time through, but more often than not, those will end up cut out as the story evolves and get tucked away in a file in the dark recesses of the computer to be played with from time to time.

Over time, as the plot develops, I become more and more sure of the ending, and how to get there.  I’m at that place right now where I can see the ending, and I know a bunch of the plot points I need to get there, and really, I just need to sit my ass down and write.  If only I could squeeze out a few more hours in my day!

I’m hoping to write for as many as six hours per day on the weekends, and a half hour to an hour, minimum, per day through the week…I just need to figure out how to manage that with the day job, the freelance job, the gym, the commute, the housework, etc.

Speaking of, I should get back to it before the day gets away from me or I get buried under the mountain of laundry. Happy Sunday, Readers!

Photo by Uwe Jelting on Unsplash

 

Photo by Uwe Jelting on Unsplash

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nano, holidays and other manic things

So, November was an interesting month.  I chose to focus on The Blood Witch for NaNoWrMo, dedicated my morning makeup routine time to writing, and spent at least four hours every Saturday and Sunday writing.

On November 29th, I hit 50K and breathed a sigh of relief.  I’m really fond of a lot of what I wrote in November, and yeah, some of it sucks and will end up heavily edited or cut, but that’s not what matters.  With a deadline, even self imposed, I set myself to powering through even the plot spots that were stymying me and making me back off the story.

It isn’t all fixed, and I still have a lot of ground to cover, but I know how the story works from here to the end, and I even know how we transition to the next book and a vague idea of what happens in it.

If you can’t tell, I am not a big outline and plotter kind of person.  I kind of pants it mostly.  I find that if I sit down and plan it all out, my brain decides we’ve already told that story, time to move on.

I got to spend a good day with family on Thanksgiving, even if the oven at their place decided to decorate my hand TWICE.  Ouchie!  And, with that the run up to the holiday season is upon us.

Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday.  On Sunday I’ll be heading up to help my mother decorate for Christmas (and recruiting help from the younger generation).  My presents are all bought and I’m just awaiting delivery for some of them.  I have some baking and such to do, and I’m crocheting in the evenings, handing out scarves and hats to the homeless as I walk to/from work.

And yes, still writing.  My goal is to finish this zero draft before the end of the year and find a critique partner/beta reader who can help me with plot holes and inconsistencies and such.  December is such a crazy month!

I hope that you find some time in it to do something you love and spread a little kindness.  Happy Tuesday, Readers!

 

Photo by Mark Rabe on Unsplash