Drafts

Blog Post No. 414

October is coming to an end and while I’ve stumbled with the edits on Break/Interrupt, I finally feel like I’ve made some headway. I’m still behind (a state that I unfortunately fallen into way too often) but with some elbow grease, I may be starting the second draft on November first. Maybe it will be my not NaNoWriMo project.

I’ve never thought that the National Novel Writing Month was for me, but the idea of tracking progress, being accountable, and working in a group makes sense. (Alone but together, you know?) It’s a month to focus on getting whatever word done that you have hanging over your head. At least, that’s what it’s become for me since so many of my writer friends join in.

I’m not going to get into my non-joiner nature. I’ve softened over the years and while I may not be trying to write a novel in a month (the point that makes the least sense with the NaNo thing) I have taken advantage of the concept for my own benefit. I’m not sure if it’s good to have the writing event so close to the hectic holiday season or not, but it works for me.

This year, I feel like I need it. If I manage to finish the second draft this month (just days left) or not, I have a lot of work to do. The story is still too long and it feels uneven. The ending is a bit rushed and the middle meanders. I used to be so good at cutting. I hope I’m not becoming too precious with my words.

What matters now is to get the story in shape so I can have other people give it a read. I rushed folks last year with Broadcast Wasteland (available to purchase now) and I want to give them time to review and critique. The book will never be any good without outside edits.

There are still five months until crunch time, but there is a lot of other work to do and the time can slip away so easily. It will be February before I know it and I’ll be in a panicked rush desperate for people to do last minutes reviews. Plus, you never know what will lead to a person not being able to do an edit or having to stop. Life is unpredictable and hectic at the best of times. Most of the people I ask for reviews are busy on their own work, too.

Strangely, my usual writing crew doesn’t know much about this book. In better times when we would get together regularly to write, we would chat about the work, our ideas, and how the writing is going. Since this was written in an enclosed space on my own, a lot of the plot is gong to be totally fresh for them. I’m excited to get their reactions to it. I hope it has even more impact. Or any impact. It won’t be done if I don’t get back to editing, though. Four more chapters to do before I can call it quits for today.