My latest manuscript is now in a full, if very rough, state. This has been one of the longest spans it has taken me to write a novel, mostly because of the month I had to take off from writing around the middle of the plot.
But it’s finished now and sitting in a mental drawer (and computer file) waiting for enough time to lapse so I can return to revisions with a fresh eye.
Working title: Raethe
Word count: A shade over 100k. Actually a bit longer than I thought it’d turn out. No doubt a good portion of this will be lopped off during revisions. Possibly 10-20%.
Summary: When an age-old, harmless system of shadow magic suddenly turns deadly, a ceremonial warrior, a theatrical apprentice, and a prostitute become unlikely linchpins of hope in helping their kingdom survive the ensuing chaos.
So…now comes the fun part. Polishing, snipping and reworking, while also getting a query and synopsis devised so this thing can eventually be shopped around if one of my current prospective stories isn’t picked up.
What’s next? Well, I’ve two main stories that have been jostling for room in my brain, so it’s mostly a matter of picking which one I’ll work on first. Otherwise I might take a whack at some short stories, and catch up on some nonfiction freelancing.
How are things on everyone else’s end?
Yay, and congratulations! It's always great to finish a big project.
Me? I'm, um, well, procrastinating. But I do have some queries out and got one request for a full.
Congratulations on finishing the draft of your novel. I know you have written short stories before, but is this your first novel?
Thanks JJ, and I hope you snag that new agent soon!
Thanks as well, Diane. Actually I have a few others already complete. Some I consider “practice” novels and will likely never see the light of day, while I have a couple that are being queried with a few partials and fulls out right now.