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Alpennia Blog: The end is in sight
Dec. 22nd, 2015 11:00 amIt feels a bit odd to do my regular Tuesday Alpennia blog when it's pretty much all Alpennia all the time this week. Unless something happens (*knock on wood*), by the time next Tuesday rolls around, I will have a complete first draft of Mother of Souls and will be freaking out about how much stuff I have to fix in revisions.
This isn't exactly a new feeling. When I had a first draft of Daughter of Mystery it was vastly different from anything I'd imagined when I first started, and much of that had be fixed up retroactively to match the ending. Even though I had a much more detailed notion of the plot when I wrote The Mystic Marriage, it went in enough different directions that the first job was continuity.
And I've been writing Mother of Souls according to a very strict "no revisions" policy for the first draft. The most I've done is make a few notes along the lines of "move the backstory for character X here" or "if they're ending up in bed in this chapter, I need to set that up much earlier" or "now that I know what character Y is doing, I need to plant seeds all along" or "character Z needs to get mentioned more casually all along; she doesn't pop in and out of existence as needed." I think the first thing I'll need to do for those revisions is simply make a long list of characters, motifs, and plot-points and go though chapter by chapter making notes of what needs to get done. Then I can make the actual revisions at the same time I'm fixing the prose. (My first drafts don't have enough description and I know I've gotten sloppy with how I'm handling the grammar of POV on occasion.)
It's rather daunting, particularly given that my schedule allows for about 2 months for the revisions before I'm due to send it out for beta reading. Which is another thing to start freaking out about at this stage. I need to identify some beta-readers with very specific backgrounds to make sure I haven't stumbled badly in certain aspects. Most importantly, I need readers who will help me make sure that Serafina rings true and doesn't step on any land mines. Secondarily, I need at least one reader who can review how I've handled my minor trans character. It might be nice to have someone familiar with early 19th century opera but that may be asking for too much. For the rest, I think my usual crew will suffice (and I've picked up a couple new volunteers).
In case it isn't obvious, I'm really excited about being this close to a complete draft.
And in closing, you know what almost all authors would really like for holiday presents? (Other than "buying their books to give as presents to all your friends".) Reviews. That's what we like. I'm still wondering when The Mystic Marriage is going to break into the double digits of reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads. (And don't stop there!) I guess that people are more likely to review the first book in a series even when they continue reading further volumes. And I'm not complaining that Daughter of Mystery is still garnering new reviews! But it would be lovely if book 2 got more chatter and push.
This isn't exactly a new feeling. When I had a first draft of Daughter of Mystery it was vastly different from anything I'd imagined when I first started, and much of that had be fixed up retroactively to match the ending. Even though I had a much more detailed notion of the plot when I wrote The Mystic Marriage, it went in enough different directions that the first job was continuity.
And I've been writing Mother of Souls according to a very strict "no revisions" policy for the first draft. The most I've done is make a few notes along the lines of "move the backstory for character X here" or "if they're ending up in bed in this chapter, I need to set that up much earlier" or "now that I know what character Y is doing, I need to plant seeds all along" or "character Z needs to get mentioned more casually all along; she doesn't pop in and out of existence as needed." I think the first thing I'll need to do for those revisions is simply make a long list of characters, motifs, and plot-points and go though chapter by chapter making notes of what needs to get done. Then I can make the actual revisions at the same time I'm fixing the prose. (My first drafts don't have enough description and I know I've gotten sloppy with how I'm handling the grammar of POV on occasion.)
It's rather daunting, particularly given that my schedule allows for about 2 months for the revisions before I'm due to send it out for beta reading. Which is another thing to start freaking out about at this stage. I need to identify some beta-readers with very specific backgrounds to make sure I haven't stumbled badly in certain aspects. Most importantly, I need readers who will help me make sure that Serafina rings true and doesn't step on any land mines. Secondarily, I need at least one reader who can review how I've handled my minor trans character. It might be nice to have someone familiar with early 19th century opera but that may be asking for too much. For the rest, I think my usual crew will suffice (and I've picked up a couple new volunteers).
In case it isn't obvious, I'm really excited about being this close to a complete draft.
And in closing, you know what almost all authors would really like for holiday presents? (Other than "buying their books to give as presents to all your friends".) Reviews. That's what we like. I'm still wondering when The Mystic Marriage is going to break into the double digits of reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads. (And don't stop there!) I guess that people are more likely to review the first book in a series even when they continue reading further volumes. And I'm not complaining that Daughter of Mystery is still garnering new reviews! But it would be lovely if book 2 got more chatter and push.
