Saturday, August 07, 2021

WAHOO!!!


:-D

I finished the first draft of my Beauty and the Beast retelling this morning!

:-D

I started writing this book at the end of October.  Sometime around February, I started to worry that I was being a big slacker, because the previous three books all took me about three months to finish the first draft, and this one had been going for longer than that and wasn't anywhere close to done!  

Was I getting lazy?  Was I getting slower?  I didn't think I was getting slower -- I'd been tossing out 1,500 to 2,000 words in most writing sessions.  And I was writing several evenings a week, and at least once a weekend, just like usual.  Surely I wasn't getting lazy.

I gradually realized that laziness and writing speed weren't a problem.  This book is just bigger.  At least, this first draft is.  My first drafts for Cloaked, Dancing and Doughnuts, and One Bad Apple averaged under 30,000 words.  This first draft?  Is over 100,000 words.  No wonder it took me three times as long to write -- it's three times as long!!!


Now, does this mean the finished book will be three times as long as the others?  Probably not.  My word count changes a LOT during revision.  Usually, it goes up.  But I think it might go way down this time because I suspect there's a lot of trimming and tightening to be done.  I don't know yet.  I won't know until I get revision suggestions and notes back from my editor.  And I'm not ready to even send it to her yet.  First, I'll let the whole thing simmer for a week or two while I recover from the last couple of weeks, where I pushed hard to get it finished.

Once I can read it with fresh and rested eyes, I'll change and fix a lot of things I've made notes on as I go.  Then I'll send it to my editor when it's ready, and when she's ready for it.  She'll spend a week or two on it.  She'll send back her notes.  I'll spend a week or so sulking because I hate getting revision notes and always sulk about them.  Which I've just learned to expect.

Then, I can start revising.  I'm guessing I'll send it to my editor in early September, and start actually revising it in early October.  Sometimes my rewrites go quickly.  Sometimes, I spend more time rewriting than I did writing.  Because I suspect this book will get a lot cut instead of a lot added, I'm hoping this will be on the shorter end of revision times, but... I won't have a good idea of what needs to be done until I get my editor's notes.



All of which means... yay, the first big chunk of work is done!!!  But I don't have any idea of when my release date will be.  I've been hoping for winter, and that could still happen.  Or it might not.  We'll see!

Meanwhile, I still need a title.  Sigh.  That'll happen too, I know.  It will, not matter how patient or impatient I am.  But I hate not having a title.  Sigh.

Anyway!  In this post, as you may have noticed, I'm sharing a few images that are related to my book.  I shared these all on Instagram last month, as part of a challenge to talk about your work-in-progress, or WIP.  You can read those specific posts (and see more pictures) herehere, here, and here.  You can also check out my Pinterest board for this book to see lots of things that I've either found inspiring or saved to refer back to.  Many of the pictures are the same, to be honest.

I'll just leave you with this Bible verse that has been in my mind a lot while writing this book.  Waiting and hoping and being of good courage are pretty big themes in it.  At least in this first draft!

20 comments:

  1. I for one am super excited for a longer story. Love that it kinda surprised you. My writing sessions tend to be more like 500 words. But I'm definitely a slow stewy writer who likes to chew the words for a bit. So it's not surprising. I'm so excited for this! I hope you celebrate.

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    1. Skye, 500 words is what I ask myself for when I sit down. Pretty much all of One Bad Apple was written in 500-word chunks. And those 500 words took me as long to write as the 1500 words for this book. It really depends on the book, for me!

      I celebrated yesterday by showing my kids their first Alan Ladd movie, Branded, which also happens to be my favorite Alan Ladd movie ;-) And then I watched 3/4 of a new-to-me Alan Ladd movie after they went to bed, while eating dark chocolate. When I party, I party hearty ;-) (I also have a little end-of-draft prize coming my way in the mail later this month that I ordered when I was pretty sure I would finish this draft by mid-August.)

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  2. Congratulations on getting that first draft done!

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    1. Thanks, VT! The first draft is always the hardest part for me, so I'm glad it's completed!

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  3. Congratulations!!!! How did your kids like Branded? I haven't seen it yet but I know TCM is having a day of Alan Ladd movies in September so maybe they’ll show it. Btw, make sure you check out my post from yesterday (look near the bottom) ;)

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    1. Thanks, Phyl! I think they liked it pretty well. My middle child said, when I told them they were welcome to watch it with me, "Oh, I like westerns. They're never boring." :-) They all know Alan Ladd's voice from listening to many Box 13 eps, and they now his face from the pictures and posters all over the house, ahem, but they hadn't seen any of his movies, so that was new and cool for them, I think?

      Thanks for the heads up! I'm soooo behind on reading blogs right now. Sigh. I will check your post out soon!

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  4. Congratulations! And don't worry about it taking longer to write this draft... as you said, it's LONG. xD I look forward to reading it when it's done. :D

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    1. Thanks, Charity! Yeah, once I realized that it was taking longer because it IS longer, I stopped worrying/wondering :-)

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  5. I love that verse. <3 And I'm so excited to read this book!!

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  6. Wahoo indeed!!! Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale so this is going to be awesome!! I love that it's longer because your books always leave me wanting more, so this will be such a treat! It's so fun that you used this opportunity to introduce your kids to Alan Ladd. Way to go on this monumental writing step!

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    1. Chloe, it's a favorite for a lot of people, I think, which totally doesn't add any pressure... ;-) I do think the final version will be longer than the last three, but how much longer? We shall see...

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  7. *CONFETTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII*

    You finished the first draft!! That's such a huge step, and I'm so proud of you and excited for you!!

    100000 words is A LOT. I've written two 90K first drafts, and both of them took me about a year, just because there's so much to put "out there."

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    1. Thank you, Katie! Yes, it is a LOT, especially with limited writing time that means I write about 10K a month. It's a lot of words.

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  8. That’s so exciting! I hope to be as disciplined a writer as you someday And I love the mood board of characters as well. Congratulations 🎊

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    1. Thanks, Miranda! Really, just the determination to not give up is what it takes. An knowing that, even if you didn't write yesterday, you can write today. It doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing thing.

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  9. That's great! Part of me always wants to be published because I have so many ideas, but the fear of rejection is almost paralyzing at times. However, I think it's wonderful that you've experienced the joy of writing and being a published author : )

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    1. Thanks, Ivy Miranda! Yeah, it takes... stamina? More than anything, really. The willingness to keep pushing forward. And it's not easy, not always.

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