Nearing the end of the first draft

A few weeks back Shan and a few friends kinda suddenly got the same idea. They suggested, rather than update my story progress by a word count, I update my progress with a percentage. Got loads of feedback from that suggestion and it's actually a better way to express my process.

Posting my word count started to sound like I was boasting. Cuz some days I was able to write 3,000 words a night. Right?!? Crazy. Last year at this time if I got in 250 words that was a miracle.

If my math is accurate I've achieved 74 percent of the first draft. Feels good to see that. Real good, because I've written 100 percent two times now, once each for the first draft of the first and second part of the three-part series.

Well, that was before the publisher sent an e-mail telling me they've switched gears and decided to publish the story as a novella.

All by its lonesome, which may include the original short story, Intertwined...

I just about lost it.

To go from a short story to a novella within half a year seems magical all in itself.

With a little structural changes I'll easily be able to combine relevant scenes and turn them into chapters. No big deal. Sounds like a hassle but not really. Again, I write scenes. In fact my story folder has sub-folders, one for Notes, The Pitch (the story summary I queried Deepwood Publishing), Scenes, and WIP.

It paid off in dividends to be a little but organized. If you know me I have to work hard at it. Being organized is not my natural state. I'm a creative person and would rather spend my time, well, you know, creating...

The end of the first draft nears.

I'll take a few days off and then dive right into edits, and then the percent goes back to zero, and then back up to 100 and then it's off to the publisher for alpha reads and formatting. :)

In the Eye of the Storm

Wondering where I've been these past few months, since December???

Well, I've been writing.

As fast as my fingers can hit the keys, as often as I can stand to write, as often as I can squeeze in the time to actually write.

What am I writing??? The Crinkled Foil, a three-part series of short stories centered around the same cast of characters introduced in the short story, Intertwined, being published by Deepwood Publishing.

Intertwined was intended as a one-shot with some potential for continuing storylines. From this story grew The Crinkled Foil, which expands on characters in that story, as well as some new faces.

It's been a crazy twist of fate since Deepwood accepted that first short story. I find myself squeezing every minute I can to write, to think, to re-read the drafts I've written so far. I'm having fun.

And that's the point, even as the storm races, screaming, whirling around me as I budget my time to complete my first novella. If I had my druthers, The Crinkled Foil will be the first of many. Only time will tell.

Thanks for stopping by.