DONE!

The first draft of Shadows and Dust is complete, at 88,554 words! It's a little shorter than I originally intended, and the plot bears little resemblance to what I envisioned at first, but I think the changes make it a hundred times better.

There's a absolute ton of editing that I'll need to do, however. The ending is pure deus ex machina, even though I planned for it for quite some time, and there's plenty of characters that I need to introduce earlier. Several scenes (at least) will suffer bloody deaths. There's tons of crappy writing, but that's okay, because it's a first draft.

It's done!

Halfway there!

Like the Bon Jovi song, I'm halfway there, and in many ways, living on a prayer: a prayer to complete the story. I've never undertaken such an ambitious project. Jack O'Lantern was ~50,000 words, and Shadows and Dust has now matched that total. The story of the first novel in this planned trilogy is nowhere near complete, however, and at times I'm staggered by how much more I have to write. But it's a good feeling, because I know I have plenty of plot and character development let to explore.

I recently looked over the outline that I threw together for S&D, and it's amazing how much it differs from the actual story that's coming out. The overall plot structure isn't changing...much...but the details, the how and why, bear little resemblance to what I originally planned. I can chalk that up to how my characters, especially Kale, the protagonist, has revealed himself--his strengths, flaws, and motivations--to me. Just today he threw me a curve when he added another group of people to his "hitlist," and it'll vastly change the way the rest of the story plays out. It's a good change, however, because it will enhance the first novel a lot, and make it stand on its own a lot better.

50k done, 50k to go.

Shadows and Dust goal

I currently estimate that Shadows and Dust will be around 100,000 words long, and I'm currently at 34,800. On 9/30, I'll be taking a trip to Vegas until 10/4, and I want to use that trip to celebrate the completion of my first draft.

This means that I'll need to average around 1,000 words every day. My current output is around 750-900 on the weekdays, and none on the weeknds. Obviously, I've got to step up my game.

Happy Independence Day!

Writing hurts reading

Here's a short list of things I've noticed about writing and reading and how they affect each other:

• Since I started writing that I can't read nearly as much anymore. Much of the free time I used to spend reading is now used for writing. It's odd, because I miss tearing through book after book.
• Something else that bugs me is that when I'm reading now, I'll notice things I never did before. I used to read for pure enjoyment, and while I still enjoy it, the writing tips I've picked up affect my reading. I notice "saidisms," overuse of adverbs, and plot contrivances. It's an interesting experience.
• To keep myself motivated while writing, I have to read. Reading books inspires me, even if they have nothing to do with my current WIP.

Rejected again.

Senility was rejected again. On to the next magazine.

Editing and Submitting Senility

I proofread Senility tonight, using a technique that's been recommended by many: reading it out loud. I closed myself in the bedroom and did it in one setting, making up voices for the characters when I read dialogue.

I had fun doing it, and I'm amazed at how many little things I found that, once corrected, improved the writing. Repetitions of words, sentences that didn't flow, etc. It's a stronger work now. If The Lay of Percy Wallace is rejected (by the magazine's guidelines, I should hear back in less than a week), I'm going to use the same process to polish it.

So, after I revised, edited, and proofread Senility, I proceeded to submit it to another magazine. One of the bonuses that came out of my recent revisions is that the story is now under 4,000 words, making this magazine* available. They respond quickly, usually within 2-3 days. I won't even attempt to deny that their speed puts them near the top of my list of potential publishers. It's a hell of a lot nicer than waiting 3 months, which I have been with Percy (the fast magazine rejected it).

*I'm not going to identify magazines to which I submit unless they accept my story. There's enough in this post for people familiar with the markets to figure it out, if they so desire.