Done With the Draft of My First Sequel

So, novel number four is done. Well, not done, done, mind you. But the draft is done. I've put down what I want to say in the order I want to say it. And parts of it, I know, are great - or at least fun. Still, I know parts are very rough, clumsy or too pat. The pieces are all there, but it might not all be put together correctly.

It's not the end of the journey, of course. I'll have to read it through with Lee to even get the draft feeling done. And then it'll need to sit a few months before I look at it again and fix what I'm too close to fix today. Pieces that need to be shuffled (which is not uncommon in ensemble novel like I have here and the one before), fight scenes that need to be expanded (or trimmed) and made better, dialog to be polished.

Still, I like the notion. I like my characters and I'm glad to be "finished."

Odd, more and more my sweet spot for book length seems to be between 90 and 100K words.

So, what's next?

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Progress. Progress - What fun!

I'm updating my sidebar with the progress on the two projects I'm jumping into. Hopefully, this weekend, I'll be adding some info on the short stories. I've got to get off my duff and start marketing some of those. I have a few I think are good to go, or thereabouts.

I'm particularly pleased with my progress on Lee's. It will probably drag and leap as I'm able to incorporate this and that of the huge wealth of writing I'd already gathered, but this is a completely new beginning for it, so it's starting slow. On the other hand, I read the first chapter and Lee is thoroughly thrilled. Apparently, I have just the voice, just the aspect of the main character he wanted, so, if it's going slowly, it's going well.

I'm just as pleased that my old Regency Romance (in the Georgette Heyer style) was further along than I remembered. It's so completely different from the other, it gives me a great change of pace when I run aground. And, since I have nearly every Georgette Heyer the poor lady ever wrote (including nearly a dozen on my ereader), I can immerse myself in her world whenever I want. And that's pretty cool, too.

Damn, I LOVE writing!

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