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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

First Final Draft Finished....

    I  have just (this morning) finished the First Final Draft of my latest, Mourningtide.  That means I've filled in holes, the narrative flows, I've found most basic mistakes, and I'm satisfied with it as it stands at this moment.
    It also means that I'll be doing a beta read (and perhaps inflicting it on associates to do the same) and will be tweaking and deepening and possibly, coming up with another title.
    My earlier works were over ten years in the making.  That is to say, I finished them, copyrighted them, sent them around and then went into a dry spell.  During the time I tried to decide what to do with them I picked at them, re-edited them, deepened them...  They are  in good shape.

But I don't have ten years to spend on this one.  Actually, it came together more quickly than the others (thank you, plotting-by-the-seat-of-my-pants) and I think it will be a year's project, since it started November 1.

It will be available in Kindle, but I'm also thinking of Smashwords (and the others), and I'll have it available in paperback, too.

Whew!  I'll be missing these characters, but I am finding it easier to move on now.

1 comment:

  1. Cool. Congrats on completing the first final draft!

    I read of a writing tip when I was 13 and it's remained indelible in my mind ever since: "When you finish the first draft, expand it until you reach double the original word count. This should force you to employ your imagination and skills to the utmost. That done, bring it back to the original word count. That should save your readers from tears of boredom."
    For me this is the best advice I've ever received. I'll just add - think of the structural balance while on that last step.

    On to the next challenge? You go girl!

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