Writing Update 2019 Q3
I’ve been super productive the last few months, thanks in part to hypomania with a dash of insomnia. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you can’t/don’t need sleep.
Novels
Feathers Sharp as Knives – I finished my rewrites, which I decided marks the end of my 3rd draft. (I’m pretty arbitrary when it comes to delineating between drafts.) This is officially my fourth draft. I’m going to revise POV by POV to help keep my voices consistent. After these revisions, I’ll do a read-through to make sure I don’t have any story inconsistencies, then it’s off to beta readers in January!
Constellations of Fate – I’ve decided to shrink it from a duology to a stand-alone. It will make the story much stronger. I don’t have time to beat out a new plot, but it’s one of the projects I’m planning for January, when FSaK is out with readers.
Short Stories
That’s right–I’ve finally started writing short stories! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but felt I never had time nor ideas for them. I finally got my first idea, and writing and revising it didn’t take very much time away from my novel. It’s pretty exciting to be stretching my brain and giving it new parameters to work within.
Tiger – This was my first idea. I love it. It’s about a girl with a tiger familiar, and it’s deeply personal. (The themes, obviously, not the tiger familiar. I wish.) I’ve submitted it to magazines and have racked up three rejections so far. I’m going to submit it to a fourth today when they open. Short story rejections are so much easier than query rejections. It’s like, Well that’s a bummer, but it doesn’t feel personal. Plus I got one rejection that said it’s ready for publication, just not what the editor is looking for. That made my day, as you can imagine.
Volcano – This is about a village that lives beneath a very active volcano, though they know they shouldn’t. I banged out the first draft in an hour, and spent a day revising it. It was one of those magical pieces that just comes nearly ready as-is. I don’t expect that to happen often, but it sure felt good. It’s nice and short, sitting at just above 1700 words. I’ve gotten one rejection for it and it’s currently out with another magazine.
Lake – About a valley that filled into a lake then dried up all within a few months, and two girls who return to find its secrets. I finished drafting yesterday, and sent it out for some critiques. It’s got a ways to go, but I’m excited about it.
Monsters – This one is in developmental stages. About men who turn into monsters sometimes, and the women who have to deal with them. I hope the full story doesn’t come to me until January, when I’ll have more time to dedicate to it, but whenever it calls, I’ll write it. That’s how it was with the Lake story. I figured I’d let it percolate until January, but one day it just decided to finish forming in my mind and I had to write it while it was fresh. Brains and stories are funny that way.