First Draft of Hagen 2 Finished

Last night, exactly five weeks after starting it, I finished the first draft of the second book about my mysterious alchemist Hagen Patterson. I have thus not broken but exactly matched my previous record for a first draft. A novel that I am currently workshopping at Odyssey Online also needed five weeks for its first version (and has changed plenty since).

In “real time” I have broken my record though, since I didn’t write for a few days when that virus I dealt with in January was at its peak activity.

Hagen 2 has 82,000 words (at the moment, the word count will surely change during the revisions) and divided by 35 days that’s actually “only” 2350 words per day. I had some days with more than 5000 words, so that’s how I compensated for the no-writing days.

I am the gardener type of writer and although I knew how I want Hagen 2 to end, it was as usual a roller coaster ride how to get there.

I do love the roller coaster ride, but it is also rather stressful – high tension for weeks so to say. Can I get where I want to go in a convincing and plausible way? That “pressure” is quite significant for me in the writing process and it also makes me write so fast, since I want to get rid of that pressure and have that, “Yes! I made it, I got where I needed to go” moment in the end.

Nothing much compares to the feeling of writing the last lines of a novel, it’s a deep satisfaction and a boost of confidence. That confidence will of course crumble away again during the revisions. So, now I have to step back into editor mode. I wish I could be as neutral and objective as when editing or critiquing other people’s work but alas, it is immensely difficult to step back from your own story and to look at it with a fresh and critical mind. I am going through highs and lows in the editing process, some scenes are awesome and I can’t believe I’ve written them, some scenes are so horrible that I’m asking myself who the idiot was who wrote that. In a way, the roller coaster ride continues during the revision process, if at a slower and less stressful pace.

Anyway, all in all I am very happy with the outcome of Hagen 2. Quite a number of things surprised me about the eventual outcome and the road there, which is great, because I firmly believe that if the author cannot surprise him/herself, then how is the reader supposed to be surprised? The story, or rather Hagen Patterson, took quite some unexpected turns and he behaved not as I had thought he would when I started to write part 2 . But that’s exactly what I wanted from him. So thanks for the excellent cooperation Mr. Patterson and I am looking forward to what you will do in part 3 now that you finally know who Alberich is and what he wants…