First Draft Done! Kind of!

Okay - so I'm not technically done with the first draft. The ending's still not written. And I'm only at 43,000 words. BUT. So much has changed about my world. It's taken me some time to understand how it works. I think I have a better grasp on it now but I want to go back and start editing that stuff in, cutting old stuff out, etc.

First Draft: Take 2.

Or I guess you could call it a Do-Over.

Yeah - I have saying that: Do-Over. Rewrite. It sounds so daunting. But I can do it! I've got the characters in my head now, the world. Do you want to know what the Core of the story is?

One word.

ESCAPE.

Have a good one all! I may be in and out of the blogging world. I want to nail this story, guys. Seriously. I love it. I think it could really work. I'm not an agent or an editor or anything so that may be my delusions talking. But my delusions keep me going sometimes. Don't judge!

My Character's Body Has Been Found...

I killed a character, remember. She was once breathing. Now she's not. But her body has just been discovered...and the RUMORS are flying. What happened to her? Was she murdered? Did she kill herself? Was it an accident?

Can I just say that this story is SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. =)

Happy Friday!

I Killed a Character

Well, I killed a character yesterday. I don't mean that I cut her from the story. I mean she's in the story. But she's dead. Oh, yeah. This story is turning out SUPER happy! =)

Congrats Kasie West!

First of all, congrats to Kasie West! Who is getting published! Yeah! I follow her blog and she's awesome. I don't know much about her book, other than that it's called Pivot Point, which sounds cool! Yeah!

A new idea came to me the other day. I was laying in bed and these details starting raining down on me. I struggled to catch them all but I managed to write some things down. FOR. LATER. Because I'm determined to finish my new WIP! I'm still so in love with it - although the first half now needs to be completely changed. So, yeah, I'm at 32,000 words but...a lot of the words are gonna get cut. But I'm exploring the world, getting to know it, answering the questions about it, slowly. The pacing is picking up, probably a bit too late. So more words will get cut. But I'll also be adding words. I try not to worry too much about word count in the beginning. It's going to change a thousand times. I guess I want to make sure I have enough going on!

Happy Monday!

My New Plan

My new plan:

1) Finish first draft of WIP by June 1.
2) Revise first draft by July 1.
3) Revise second draft by August 1.
4) Revise third draft by September 1.
5) Revise fourth draft by October 1.
6) By November 1 - Query WIP (if all goes well with it, that is. FINGERS CROSSED.)
7) November - Work on a new WIP for National Novel Writing Month. A much happier, peppier, brighter manuscript.

Anyway - that's the plan. I'm giving myself at least the summer to whip this WIP into shape (ha!). But if there's one thing I've learned about writing, it's that nothing ever goes according to plan.

News!!!!!!!!

Do you like how I did that? How I added a million !!!!!! to the title to make it seem like AWESOME news? And it is good news. Sort of. Depending on how you look at it.

No - I am not getting published. Yet.

Yes - I did part ways with my agent.

*GASP*

It's totally cool. I've decided to take things in a different direction. I'm returning to supernatural YA, which is sort of where I started. But I'm going dark and creepy and eerie. Basically - the complete opposite of my YA contemporary.

My YA contemporary manuscript WAS NOT WORKING. I still think it's kind of cute and sweet but I wrote it last summer as a break...a fun project. I never expected big things from it. I queried it a little on a whim and got lucky.

But I'm so ready to make things happen this year, you guys. I really am. Not like I haven't been trying so far but I feel like I've got more in me. When I feel like I've done all I can -- I may stop. But I don't feel that way yet. I need to really buckle down and chug out the best manuscript that I can. I've already got a query in the wings for the new WIP. Of course, it may change as I keep writing because who hasn't changed plots in the middle of a first draft?

I think it's important to remember this: Agents are there to work for you. If they can't do anything for you, it may be time to move on. No hard feelings. It's a business. It can really feel sometimes like agents are hiring you, because of the query process. But you are hiring them to help with your writing career. It's a partnership. A two-way street.

So I'm starting fresh. Hey - I've done the query world before. It's kind of fun. (AM I CRAZY? Possibly). I've developed a pretty thick skin over these years of writing, whether through rejections through queries or rejections through literary online magazines. It's tough, yes. But right now, it's the manuscript I need to work on. I love my new WIP. I think this could be THE ONE. (I might have said that before...) I'm only about halfway through a first draft so I've got a ways to go.

If you have any questions about my experience, please feel free to e-mail me or leave in the comments! Happy to answer!

I'm oddly relieved about this. I swear I'm not being falsely optimistic. I like starting fresh. Which I think is a good sign. =)

What Did I Miss?

Hi! I'm back! Did you miss me? I missed you!

What did I miss? Any big book news?

I'm now at 23,000 words on the new WIP. Yep. I'm moving that SLOW. But I'm eager to move full steam ahead on it now. I just need to focus on it. Get in the GROOVE. I love writing in the summer time (even though the new WIP is very much WINTER. DARK. COLD.)

I'm feeling good these days y'all. I don't really have a reason to. But I just am.

Hope everyone had a great week! The weather around here is finally looking up! =)