Author’s Log: Updates From The Word Mines (#amwriting, #ROW80)
So my Infernal Editor is, once again, running amok. But that’s okay, because I’m the one who opened his cage. Yes, on purpose. Because he has a job to do.
I have a lot of deleted scenes for Blood & Steam #1. A LOT. The Hammer was right to call me out on fun scenes that don’t progress the plot any (something I’m not usually wont to do), which I attribute to more or less pantsing my way through the first draft. She helped me restructure, and now I’m am gleaning my way through the manuscript and tossing whole chunks over my shoulder in the process. Her notes actually left me with, pretty much, a whole new outline.
It’s a lengthy, convoluted process, but I feel like I’m finally digging my way out of the worst of it. I had to write new content or repurpose existing material. In the end, I’m probably going to start posting those deleted scenes here on my website, for your mockery and amusement, MST3K style.
I anticipate the final version to be uploaded on Wednesday(ish), if all goes well. The book releases on Friday, and then I can fall over. Looking forward to it, let me tell you.
1. Draft DRAGON’S HEART Act I: I’m down to writing 3-4 times per week at the moment, because of deadline-driven revisions on Blood & Steam. I enjoyed writing Ronan’s first chapter, and getting to know him in the process. I’m just now getting past the sticky bits. The beginning is, in a word, awkward. Painfully so. But it’s DONE, by all that is holy. This is totally unlike me as a writer–my beginnings tend to be strong from the get-go–so it was really difficult for me to push through. It felt unnatural. But I persevered, for the most part.
Right now I’m continuing to draft, and waiting for that inevitable moment that will give me a better beginning.
2. Revise BLOOD & STEAM #1: Almost done. The worst is over, and now I’m starting to smooth things out, poking at things a long the way. I love this story, but I’ll be glad when it’s out the door. I want to get it back out to the Hammer this week, if at all possible.
3. Rebrand WAKING MUSE: The final covers are coming along nicely, but new jacket copies are slower to gel. If I could hire someone to do it for me, I would, but this is still a skill I want (and need) to master, so it’s taking some practice. I know it’ll get better when I get better, but at the moment I’m wanting set All The Things on fire.
I felt the same way about the violin, when I first started playing. It was difficult, twisting my hands and spine into unnatural angles, fighting to keep the bow balanced and under control, all the while imagining the beautiful music I’ll be able to play one day (and drooling over David Garrett, I won’t lie). But it’s only now, after regular practice and hand-strengthening exercises, that my arms no longer want to fall off and the bow has begun get settle comfortably in my grip, and I’m going “What was so difficult about this again?”
