Unnecessary Roughness

The first draft of my latest WIP is done! I can’t even believe it! It’s been years since I’ve actually made it this far. And I still really like the story, which is even more impressive. I don’t mean just that I enjoy it or think it’s a good idea, but that I still find it interesting to write about. I’m still bummed that I never felt like finishing my previous book, but it never held my interest as much as this one has. I’m not sure what that says about it, but it’s something.

So the first draft is done, which means that it’s time to start editing. Usually I find editing to be such a bore, but I’m not dreading it this time, possibly because it’s been so long since I’ve actually done it. Actually, scratch “possibly”.

Anyway, I’m off to edit. Have an amazing day!

via GIPHY

Getting From Middle To End

I think the middle must be the toughest part of the story. You know, except for the rest of it.

My book is going very slowly (as I’m writing this, my word count is ~45K). It’s kind of frustrating. I used to be able to churn out a rough draft in under two months. Of course, none of those books are even remotely readable, so maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. It’s just hard to keep thinking that way when you live in a world where you’re supposed to do things both quickly and perfectly.

It’s coming along. So I keep telling myself. I really like how this story is shaping up. Sometimes I worry that the main character doesn’t have enough of a personality, that it’s only the things that happen to her that make her interesting, but that’s probably a problem for editing. And I still like her. With all the crap going on her life, she deals with everything as practically as she can. Including the fact that someone almost killed her. She’s definitely someone I’m rooting for. But maybe I’m biased.

Still, there are so many things that I wonder about. Is the story interesting enough? Am I handling it right? Will I ever actually finish? Still having figured that one out. I have an ending in my. It’s getting to it that need to figure out. Yeah, I know this is why people outline but I was afraid if I stopped to do that I’d never actually get to writing. You got to keep up the momentum, you know?

Anyway, that’s what I’m up to. How’s your writing going?

The End, Part 1

I finished another book. I don’t know how many this makes. I could count, but the number would be depressingly high considering how many I’ve had published (a big, fat goose egg, by the way, although considering some of my efforts, that’s probably a good thing :P).

So it’s the end, but not the end. Draft one is done, but it’s, well, not something I’d share with anyone. Ever. Not that it doesn’t have the potential to be better—far from it! I really love this story, even if I’m not sure how popular a future-fiction-action-adventure book would be with readers. It’s still great though. Or it will be once I get through with editing.

Editing is a big process, bigger than writing the book itself. Right now, MALICE is just under 100K, longer than it should be, full of subplots that went nowhere but are in because I thought they would (outlining! <shakes fist>), and words I just stuck in there because I could figure out exactly what I was trying to say (anyone else have writing moments like that?). Plus I think the book has unacceptable levels of telling instead of showing. And all the things I need to research, world building details I have to add, and, what’s it called? Descriptions.

So. I have my work cut out for me. It took something like two and a half months to write. Editing is going to take considerably longer. I need to do a read aloud, take notes of what needs to be fixed, fix said notes, about a billion other things. Then beta reads. And more notes to fix. Always more notes.

I can honestly say I don’t know when I’ll be able to write “The End” and mean it, or if that will ever be the case. All I can do is keep typing.

What do you do after you finish draft number one? What’s your editing process like? Please share, and don’t skimp on the details! : )

Drafted

Just something funny I whipped up because I have no other ideas.

Draft 1: First draft, roughest of the rough. No one’s seeing this puppy except a spouse and maybe your mother. Upon reading it, you will discover you have a strange affinity for certain words (just and that are the worst offenders, but you’ll probably have a few that are uniquely you) as well as several plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Pretty impressive considering the size of paper is only 8-by-11 inches.

Draft 2: Second draft, the one you will tell people is your first draft because the actual first one will never see the light of day again. You might ship this out to a few kind-hearted betas, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Chapters that go nowhere will be cut. Characters that don’t add anything are carefully excised. You also start caring about continuity and researching all the scientific/medical/technical aspects you’ve thrown in there.

Draft 3: Third draft, and probably the first one you will consider “done” even though it probably isn’t. You’ll round up some beta readers and critique partners who you assume will be in awe of your talent, only to be devastated when they point out more plot holes, weak characters and unbelievable dialogue. After you stop sobbing and threatening to kill them, you’ll realize they’re right.

Draft 4-?: Continuing approaches to the fabled “Final Draft”. Each incarnation is better than the last, although now you’re in danger of over-editing and procrastinating rather than sending it out to agents/editors/publishers. Once you realize you’re only changing minor word usage, your betas are all giving you the thumbs up, and your spouse is telling you to just ship it out or I swear to God, you’re sleeping on the couch, you decide for good or ill, the next draft will be the last.

“Final” Draft: The draft you deem ready to be seen by others. How adorable that you think it’s the actual final draft. Those quotes are there for a reason. No matter who you send it to, there will be more rewrites in your future. Each time you’ll think it will be the last, and each time those quotes just stay up there.

Final Draft: Mythical condition that might not actually exist, much like unicorns, jackalopes, and a version of Windows that works above or near your expectations. This version of the book will be seen by hundreds, thousands, or (if it’s good enough) millions of people. No pressure.

Woo!

First of all, I could still use some guest posts for the end of the month. Give me a shout out if you’re interested.

Second, I finished another book! Woo! And by “finished” I mean I finished a rough draft that I can already tell needs revisions that will take months to complete, probably longer than the initial rough draft took if the past is any indication.

I…umm. Less woo.

However, it’s still a nice accomplishment. I promised myself I’d finish it by the end of the month and I did. Actually, I was getting a little worried that I might not make it, not do to a lack of writing, but rather because the book just kept getting longer. The “final” word count is about 94 K, which makes it 20 K more words than the last rough draft I completed. I guess I had a lot to say with this one.

Now that I’m done, I’m feeling a little writer’s burnout, and I don’t think I’d be at my best if I started editing it right away. So what’s the solution? Edit something else of course! I still have GLITCH to work on. Draft two is done, but it’s been neglected as I focused my energies on the shiny new project (working title: COLLAPSE). Time to get back in the game. I’m swearing off the new book until September (and boy, is that hard!), maybe even October if I don’t make serious gains towards the apocryphal “completion”. Then it’s back to beta readers…

How’s writing going for you? Any editing tips you’d like to share?