Best Worst Draft

Just finished the first draft of my first standalone novel (still code named HCH; titles are hard) and it's the best I've felt about one since Remember, November. Not because the draft itself is good, but because I did it, and I'm happy with how the story has shaped up. I wrote this one differently, by just blasting through it without looking back or editing, just... word vomiting every day until there was a story. I outlined it, but there are already changes I'm making that I learned in the process of writing it.

The draft itself is barely readable as a story, though, with entire scenes that are literally just dialogue. They're placeholders for more stuff to come, obviously, but being able to blast through all of it and tell an entire story in only a few weeks felt good. I could get used to writing books that aren't 130,000 words long!

I needed to write this book. Something that wasn't in the Ashes series, a book that when it's done, is done, one that is much less taxing and not so emotionally fraught. It's not anywhere near publishable, but I know what I need to do to make it that way, and I'm looking forward to working on it every day. Hopefully it won't take too long to get it there, either.

It's romantic, it's fantasy, it's comedic, it's... a little weird, but not too bad, and moves at a breezy pace. It's a lovely little story with kissy bits and funny bits that will make it a nice contrast to the Ashes books and less daunting to get into. Those books are heavy, and deal with a lot of heavy themes, in addition to the fact that there is in the neighborhood of 400,000 words worth at the moment. This new book is not that.

I will have more to say about it when it's closer to done, but it's coming, and I'm very excited to share it with you.