The knowledge I might hit this benchmark before the end of the week has been tip-toeing around my brain for several days. Like anything that might give my inclination toward slacking off an idea, I tried to ignore it.
Now I'm done, I can give myself permission to relax and even to talk about the work--I tend to not do much of that, because I'm bashful about anything I write that isn't fully polished yet.
What I really want to talk about, however, is doing things you always said you'd never do.
You know when you read a book, and it ends, and the story's not done yet? And you have to wait a year for the next book? Yeah, I really hate that.
Yeah, I just did that.
My novel has a cast of fourteen major characters; it's an orca of a story. Several months ago, I realized there was no way I was going to finish it in one volume--not unless my agent could convince a publisher to make an offer on a 170, 000 word book. By an unknown author. In this economic climate. Heh; ye-ah...
So I located a good place to break the story, and that's the point I wrote up to tonight.
My next steps are to outline the second book, edit this one completely, then send it off.
But oh man, it bugs me I actually ran afoul of one of my own pet peeves! The book's even got a cliffhanger ending. I loathe those.
But I really like my story. And I believe in it. I also know a lot of things I don't like about (certain) series books don't bother other fantasy readers one bit. It's really not a problem for me to have written a two-book story.
I'm just going to have to roll with it, so please raise a brick of chocolate with me and toast the birth of my new novel!
Like all newborns, it's still pretty weird-looking and stinky, but that's okay. Tomorrow, I give it its first bath!
11 comments:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Koala is pleased.
Well done, you! I'm also breaking my own rules in my current draft. I begin to wonder why I even have personal rules.
I said I'd never put my babies in daycare. A cliffhanger seems a small hypocrisy.
Congratulations!
Not having read your book, I can't say this with any definitive clout, but...don't end with a cliffhanger. It's a bad thing. You can leave dangling secondary plots, but don't have a cliffhangar ending for the main plot. Not a true cliffhangar. Some stage of satisfaction should be reached.
Because if you are a new(er) novelist, you might just piss off your reader pool. At least, speaking for myself, I generally refuse to buy books following up a cliffhangar ending, I despise them so much.
But I'm so glad you got the first draft finished! That's a big thing, a wonderful thing!
Good on you for finishing.
For some time now, I've been hovering round the finale of my own WIP like a moth over a volcano. I can't tell you how many packets of chockie biccies and honey-glazed kumquats have approached — and breached their — USE BY dates.
May there be much jjbenedictoid rejoicing.
Congrats on the new draft. I am curious--have you ever taken to shoving a recently completed story in a drawer (literal or not) for a week or more, to give yourself some mental distance? Or do you keep working on it right through the revisions?
Congratulations, JJ!!!
I actually don't mind a cliffhanger in fantasy. I've loved more than a few trilogies. I think the trick is reaching a conclusion in the arc of that novel while still leaving the overall arc of the series at a point of conflict.
I'm still knee-deep in the wip what killed me... and I threw out the first rough draft after working on it for nearly a year... ahhhhh.... this is why I don't do nano, I have no problem writing a lot of words... it's just making sure they're not crap that's the issue :-)
CKHB: Thank you! :)
Debra: Koala should totally bump me up a level! Look at that shiny wordcount for the week, ooh la la.
Scott: Thanks! It's like the universe/our muse/our id is playing games with all those lofty aspirations.
Kate: Thank you! Let's hope all our reservations translate into us doing a VERY FINE JOB of breaking our own rules.
Writtenwyrdd: Och, I have no choice! The book is already 100,000 words; it must be stopped. I do have some resolution; it's just not the main story arc.
Whirlochre: Thank you! Get that moth some aluminum foil armour and tell it to flap harder, so we can all join in some Whirlochroid rejoicing!
Josh: I usually let do that for a month, and I intend to with this novel too. However, I'm going to do a quick pass now; I find I can usually slenderize my word count considerably on the second read.
Merry: Thanks! I can think of a few exceptions to the rule--books that didn't resolve but which didn't tick me off either--it's just there's so few of them...
Yeah, I've tossed ages' worth of work before. It sucked, but the rewrite was soooo much better. Good luck, and may you soon be able to say you're the writer what killed that WIP. :)
Way to go sis!
Get to read this one? Hoping alot!
Sarf: Only if it gets published! But I've got my fingers crossed, and a good feeling about this one... :)
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