"Never think of revising as fixing something that is wrong. That starts you off in a negative frame of mind. Rather think of it as an opportunity to improve something you already love."
-Marion Dane Bauer

Last night I got my first ever editorial letter. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I am absolutely certain that THE IRON WITCH will be better for it. I am excited. (And terrified... *g*) There was something almost magical about opening up that Word document, printing out the letter, and then taking my time as I read through the contents. I could feel my mind expand with the possibilites for this book; I just hope I can do myself and my characters justice. I hope I'm good enough.

I'll be busy over the next couple of months, but I will still try to keep up with people online and off - and I'll let you know how it's going. I have plenty of time for these edits, so I don't need to rush.

I'm also going to attempt to complete the second draft of Moth's novel (BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS) by the end of November, in line with my goals for jonowrimo. I have lots of lovely people waiting to read it (yay!), but I've promised my mum the first copy of the manuscript as an early Christmas present. She reads everything I write and gives really helpful feedback. Not only does she cook me an amazing dinner every Sunday, she's a great beta reader... What more could I ask for? ;)

Right now I am not working on my revisions for THE IRON WITCH. I am, in fact, working on revising BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS. There are reasons for this, which include the fact that my editorial notes for TIW are now arriving next week - this is what happens when you have a fabulous editor who is super-busy (*waves to fabulous editor*). But it's totally fine as it gives me a chance to do some surgery on the rough draft of Moth's novel. Which I still haven't sent to Agent M. Hmm...

The thing is... *has shifty eyes* Okay, I'll come out and say it (and I have permission to say it, so it's all good): Moth is really too 'big' a character to be a supporting character. She started out having a small role in TIW, but that role grew and Moth began to take over her scenes a little. To the point that when I had the chance to contribute a vampire story to THE ETERNAL KISS, Moth was the obvious choice. Now she has become popular in her own right - already! Who knew? I had no idea that I would be getting emails and PMs and notes on Goodreads and all sorts of things... about Moth! My Moth. *beams with pride* I'm very happy about it, but of course this leaves something of a dilemma: Can she really just be a supporting player in THE IRON WITCH, a book that is all about Dona Underwood and her iron tattoos, her best friend Navin, a hot half-fey guy called Xan, the Alchemists and the Wood Elves?

The answer to this, after my editor's phone call last week, appears to be: Not really, no. And that's so cool because it means I can cut Moth loose from TIW and give her a book of her own. Let me just say Right Now before anyone gets too excited on my behalf, this doesn't mean I've sold the Moth novel. I haven't. Truly. But now I can get back to work on BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS with renewed energy and try to find a home for it some time in the future. Not to mention the fact that Moth is getting a second anthology story next summer in (the tentatively-titled) KISS ME DEADLY, which will again be published by Running Press. And... honestly? THE IRON WITCH is a better book without her, much as I love her. She is wasted in a minor role and this gives her a chance to develop in a big way. (I hope.)

So that's what's going on over here; big changes for TIW, but they are brilliant changes because I have a brilliant editor. (He might read my blog, so I have to say that! *g*) And a new lease of life for my teen vampire, Moth, who may now have the chance to make her own way in the world of publishing. I'm very excited by all this, so we'll see what happens! :)

Just a tiny snippet from BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS, as I've spent the last hour doing some revisions on Moth's sadly neglected novel. I haven't touched it for (what feels like) ages - it's good to get back to my girl. :)

---

I stood under cover of the stone entrance porch and waited for Byron to tell the other kids what was going on. He was furious that he hadn’t been allowed to see Russell - or 'Red' as he had been known since his Awakening as a supposed vampire.

If only I was wearing my shades so I could let loose and roll my eyes at all the clichés flying around. Sure, it was sad that Russell/Red was dead, but I’d never managed to get my head around the whole Otherkin scene. I wished I could visit a bunch of high schools and give talks about why it was seriously Not Cool to be a vampire.

It would be like sex education, only more practical.

...I admit it. I broke down and did some more fiddling with BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS. Yes, it was done, but I never did write the epilogue that I thought it needed.

Now it is written. First writing I've done in a week - since being ill - and it feels good to be working with words again. *dusts off hands*

The epilogue stands at exactly 900 words and I love every single one of them. I want to keep them no matter what. I know epilogues aren't to everyone's taste, but I knew this book should have one and I was right. Ha! Even if anyone else says that it's unnecessary, it is staying. Um... unless an editor one day wants to buy the manuscript and tells me to cut it.

Then I will cut it. ;)

I am so freaking (as Moth would say) happy right now! I just finished the second draft of BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS. Well, it was sort of a second & third draft rolled into one. I say this because I had to shift the entire book from 3rd- to 1st-person POV, which was a huge undertaking and worthy of a draft all on its own. And that was before I could make the significant structural changes that I knew this manuscript needed all along.

I want to give it one final read-through, but I wrote "The End" at the bottom of this draft and I feel a lot better about it now. :)

For those interested in stats...

First draft:

Started: May 5th
Finished: June 22nd
Time taken: 7 weeks (fast, for me!)
Words: 62K (give or take)

Let the MS sit for 2 weeks, though that wasn't really long enough which is why I struggled to get into revisions for so long.

Second/Third draft:

Started: July 7th
Finished: August 18th (I'm telling you, it feels like a WHOLE LOT LONGER!!)
Time taken: 6 weeks
Words: 60K (pretty much)

So in total, to get to this point has taken about 4 months. And the revisions took almost as long as the first draft, which makes me wonder if fast-drafting is the way forward for me. It's certainly something to think about, although I am willing to consider that this book needed to be written fast; that initial rush of inspiration was certainly there and I just sort of let it lead me.

There will be at least another round of revisions as a result of feedback when I get it, but still... The whole thing was actually pretty quick, even though it felt like it was taking forever. Especially these last few weeks. *sigh* I added a LOT of new material during rewrites, too, so I'm really surprised I've ended up with 2,000 words less in this version. I know I also cut a lot of text, but I must've cut more than I thought!

I will no doubt fiddle with it a bit more in the evenings this week, after the Day Job, but then I will let it go. For now. ;)

It feels a little like BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS might have a secret ambition to be a Hydra when it grows up. Specifically, the type that grows two heads when one is cut off.

Every time I cut a portion of text from the manuscript (something that I'm getting quite good at, now!), I then decide I need to write a Very Short scene just there. And then the scene grows into a whole chapter and I end up with more material than I had in the first place.

Last night I wrote a whole new chapter that feels like it absolutely has to be there, but of course now it means I need to add in the consequences of that chapter. This is truly the Neverending Story...

I made good progress on my revisions today. I didn't get started as early as I'd hoped, due to being up so late last night reading Caitlín R. Kiernan's wonderful new novel, The Red Tree. It is certainly the best novel of hers that I've read, and I've read all but one of them so far. I always enjoy Caitlín's writing - her beautiful, dark, poetic style - but this book is just so... real. I think a big part of that is because the main part of it is written as a journal (I love books written as diaries/epistolary novels). I'm only halfway through, but I feel excited to continue with it tonight.

Anyway, I have just one brand new chapter to write for BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS, and then I need to go through the entire ms one more time to add a few bits and pieces. I have also discovered that the novel probably needs an epilogue, so it looks like I won't finish this second draft for a few more days. I keep forgetting that I switched the entire novel from 3rd-person to 1st-person POV, and that is part of the reason for the amount of time these revisions have taken.

Tomorrow I am meeting a new online friend thanks to daphnegrab hooking us up. Looking forward to a chat about writing & reading & YA books over coffee. And then it'll be back to work on the revisions for the rest of the day.

Things have been a little quieter than usual around here. I've been super-busy with Day Job (overtime) and other stuff in Real Life. In between all that, I'm trying to squeeze in revisions on BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS. I broke down and had to email Agent M to confess that my revisions have turned into more of a rewrite. I made so many changes that I had to rework part of the book entirely. And the ending was never very strong to begin with, so that's what I'm working on now. It feels like I've been working on this manuscript forever, but I suppose it's just that I wrote the first draft so quickly... makes it seem pretty endless because the 'revisions' are taking longer than the first draft!

I'm really hoping to finish by early next week.

--

Last night I gave myself the evening off and had great fun with Liz (lilifae) at yet another author event. Met some lovely people from Catnip Publishing, as well as authors Carole and Lili Wilkinson (mother and daughter). I did manage to grab a signed copy of Lili's new UK release, Scatterheart (it came out in Australia in 2007):



And here's a pic of me with Lili:



I have new hair in this photo, but Lili out-cutes me by a mile! :) She is also very clever and funny, and runs the Australian website devoted to teen literature, Inside a Dog.

There may be a giveaway for SCATTERHEART at some point, so keep an eye out for that.

Still wading through revisions on BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS which will henceforth be known as the Endless Revisions of Doooom(tm).* However, there are improvements and I think I can see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Just about. ;) I had hoped to finish by today but that's not going to happen - I will need all of next weekend to get this baby finished.

But the change of plan I'm talking about in the heading of this post relates to my next project. Sorry to all those who were excited at the thought of a 'London Book' - that will have to wait as Agent M and I have discussed matters and I now have a Super-Sekrit, Super-Exciting project to work on! I have to say, Agent M is very cool and puts up with a lot of my craziness for which I'm grateful. Heh. I know I'm rubbish with keeping Sekrit Projects sekrit and always spill the beans before too long. For now, though, it will simply be known as SSP, although I will gladly tell reneesweet that it is an adult urban fantasy...

I will, of course, be returning to YA after that - I might even make the 'London Book' a YA story. I have a few ideas for that. Wow, I have so many things I want to write! I need a spare brain and an extra pair of hands, that way I could work on a couple of things at once. :)


*That's what happens when you decided to change the POV of the entire book and also rewrite the ending.

...is not what I am supposed to be doing.

I am supposed to be revising BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS.

What I am actually doing is day-dreaming a new project into existence. So far a lot has changed since I first conceived of the 'London Book' as I've been calling it, at least until I come up with something resembling a real title. I even wrote 3 pages today, just to try out the voice of my main character and I love it! Very different from anything I've written so far, and I hope that in this case 'different' = Good. ;)

I've opened the BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS file now, like a good little writer. Onto Chapter 10 I go...

Revisions have been slow but sort-of-steady. Busy at Day Job - things finally going well there, yay! - and then out with the lovely lilifae last night to a publishing event. Great fun checking out the offices of Simon & Schuster in London, sarahtales (Sarah Rees Brennan) was in attendance among others, and I even managed to grab a couple of free books. Always a good thing. ;) No, Robin Wasserman wasn't there (sadly) but I did get an early copy of the UK paperback of Skinned.



Click books for more info...

But yeah, revisions... I'm up to Chapter 9 of 20, and that includes one of the chapters that needed a lot of work. The other two are at the very end - not particularly looking forward to tackling those. I think revisions are my least favourite part of the writing process.

...finally!

It took me long enough. I needed to let the manuscript for BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS sit for a bit longer, but now I'm back into the swing of things and taking it one chapter at a time. Trying not to push too hard and just see how much I can get done in each session without putting too much pressure on myself. I'm currently on Chapter 5 of 20. This chapter needs some new material added, so will probably take me the rest of the day to complete.

At the same time, I'm doing lots of thinking about my next project which is shaping up to be a trilogy set in London. A contemporary fantasy firmly rooted in folklore - with my own twist on it, of course. ;)

At least, things I've learned in the past few weeks. ;)

I completed the first draft of BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS 2 weeks ago. That draft took me an unprecedented 7 weeks. I pushed myself harder than I ever have before, and those 62,000 words didn't come easy - but they did come fast. I think I only managed to write that quickly because I forced myself to get out of my own way and stop editing as I went along (which is what I normally do).

But now I'm paying the price because, two weeks later, I'm nowhere near finished revisions. I don't know if I didn't leave the manuscript to 'sit' for long enough (maybe? I left it a week before even looking at it); or whether I burnt myself out by writing the second half of it so fast; or even if I'm just procrastinating because I want to work on a New!Shiny! project. Whatever is wrong I need to sort it out quickly because this book could be really good, only it's not going to revise itself.

So maybe I've learned that writing quite that fast doesn't work for me? Or maybe I just need to get more distance between drafts? I don't know...

On another, though sort of related note, I have a question:

If you're a writer - published or unpublished (or somewhere in between) - how many CPs or beta readers do you have & who are they? You don't have to name names, I just mean: are they fellow writers? Family members? Family members who write? Friends? Readers who would never even dream of picking up a pen or hitting the keyboard to create a manuscript of their own? Do you find it useful to only get the opinions of one or two readers, or do you have a large number of people giving you feedback on your early work?

Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks! :)

ETA: Just to clarify, the reason I'm asking isn't because I don't have CPs, etc., but because I have LOTS and I wonder if I might find so many different opinions confusing. (Which isn't a reflection on the quality of feedback I get at the moment at all.) Consider this another one of my Very Unscientific Polls...

I can't believe how quickly this year is passing. Does anyone else feel that way, or is it just me? Half the year is gone...

Life is very busy for me right now. The Day Job in particular is taking a lot of time/energy, but at least I managed to start revisions on BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS. I've changed a lot of it from 3rd to 1st-person POV (though I've stuck with the more traditional past tense) and it's working. I really like it. Maybe this book needed to be written in 3rd-person - I think I write best that way - but now I'm seeing how I can drop deeper into Moth's head with the POV switch. It's good. Although I still have a lot of work to do, especially on the ending.

Yesterday I posted a giveaway at the Deadline Dames. It ends on Saturday.

I've been reading a lot of Marjorie M. Liu stuff lately. I'm loving her prose; she writes so beautifully, while still telling kick-ass stories. Looking forward to getting my hands on her new release, Darkness Calls.

Other new releases I can't wait to read? Prey by Rachel Vincent, and City of Souls by Vicki Pettersson. There are many more... July is a great month for fantasy, urban or otherwise.

I have finished the first draft of my third YA manuscript. Looks like I'm making a habit of this writing biz, yeah? *g*

Excuse me while I just dance around the room for a minute. Heh. Maybe that's not such a good idea as I had a terrible migraine (AGAIN!) last night. But anyway...

Thanks to all my LJ-friends for cheering me on to the finish line. Although I was supposed to be giving up wordmeters, for what it's worth my final total wasn't as big as I thought it would be:

BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS

62305 / 60000 words. 104% done!

Though I did break it. ;P

I still need to write an epilogue, but I can't do that until I make some significant changes during revisions. Not least of which is going to be a shift to 1st-person POV. I think I'll be leaving it in past tense, although I love present tense and am hugely grateful for all the feedback and recs on my previous post. I've already ordered a couple of those YA books narrated in 1st-person, present tense! I still have birthday vouchers to spend...

I will be taking a writing break until the weekend - revisions begin on Saturday. *goes in search of chocolate*

ETA: I just checked, and I began this draft on May 5th, so it took exactly 7 weeks to write. Not bad, what with Day Job stuff & migraines to contend with. ;)

After my major 7k writing day, I sort of crashed on the word count for the next few days. Mostly, I hadn't expected to write much anyway because of the Day Job - I wrote a couple of pages each day, except Thursday when I went out with lilifae after work - but I was struggling. Last night, despite feeling under the weather, I had one of those breakthroughs you only dream of as a writer.

I would call it an epiphany but I think I overuse that word, and you can only have one or two epiphanies in your life. ;)

I was kinda stuck, wondering how I still had so much story to tell. But then it hit me: I had already written the two chapters that should precede the finale/climax. Only I'd written them far too early. And I'd recently written two chapters that were more quiet - though necessary - but really belonged back where those earlier, faster-paced chapters were.

I simply swapped them over. It's like a miracle, because they fit perfectly - apart from fixing the transitions, which I'll do during revisions - and now I think I only have two chapters to write and I'm finished! I'm hoping to do that on Monday as I'm working overtime at the Day Job next week, so that's the last day I'll be able to spend a whole day writing for a while. Today was a family day (my brother likes it when I call them that, and he reads my blog - *waves to bruv*) and tomorrow I'm out with Liz and Ana for more birthday stuff.

So, yeah... Monday is the Big Day and I really want to get this first draft finished. Wish me luck!

...is that you have to estimate the total words for your project. If you guess WRONG, you then have to move the goal posts; but it feels like taking one step forward and two steps back. *sigh*

Of course, I am very happy with my overall progress but it just feels like I could constantly shift the upper limit of words. Like this:

Exhibit A:

55604 / 60000 words. 93% done!

Exhibit B:

55604 / 65000 words. 86% done!

I think I will throw out the word meter until I finish BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS. Or maybe I'll just record my total words and forget what the goal might be. I don't know if this first draft needs to be 65k or even 70k. I'm just not sure, because there's still quite a lot of story to tell. I'm still hoping to finish soon, though! :)

KAZ: Brain, oh brain, please tell me why you are so tired...
KAZ'S BRAIN: *grunt*
KAZ: Hello? Are you in there? You have eleventy-thousand emails and LJ comments to answer. Could you help me out with that please?
KAZ'S BRAIN: No.
KAZ: But... brain! THAT IS YOUR JOB. I demand you reply to comments and start thinking about the Day Job tomorrow and maybe even reply to an email or two.
KAZ'S BRAIN: I cannot, for I am all used up and worn out.
KAZ: Don't say this to me, brain. I have need of you! What happened??
KAZ'S BRAIN: I wrote 7,012 words today. 7k. I have never done such a thing before. Ever. In my whole life as your brain.
KAZ: O.o Really? 7k?! But brain, we have never written that amount of words in one day before!!
KAZ'S BRAIN: That is what I just said. Which is why I am the brain and you are just the person carrying me around.
KAZ: Um...
KAZ'S BRAIN: I rest my case. Also... *thud*




*Inspired by Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius because, yes, I am a geek. :)

So today I turn 36. *takes a minute for that to sink in*

Right, I'm fine now. ;)

Had a pretty good day with family yesterday, and today I'll be sitting in the sun for a while before going out for dinner. Keeping it pretty quiet as usual, although I am planning a (small) joint birthday celebration next weekend with the fabulous Ana from The Book Smugglers.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has already wished me a Happy Birthday - whether on LJ, via personal messages or email. Seriously, each and every one of you ROCK! I intend to reply to everyone individually, but if I acknowledge you all here you at least know I've read your lovely comments & emails. Thank you. :)

At the risk of sounding big headed and possibly embarrassing deebles08 (who works in the Land of Publishing), I have to quote this particularly cool comment:

everyone here at work totally loves your piece in The Eternal Kiss. They're saying that its not suprising yours is first in the book, coz its pretty much the BEST!! ..
And I'm like well duh.. I could have told you that!

Picture me with a HUGE grin on my face.

I've tried to write each day, despite getting a little derailed by birthday stuff. Here's where the Birthday Word Meter stands for BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS:

48000 / 60000 words. 80% done!

Of course, that looks like I'm getting very close to The End. I'm feeling very nervous about wrapping up all the loose threads in just 12,000 words. Heh. Not sure that's going to happen - probably this first draft will be a little bit longer than planned...

I'm loving writing BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS so much - I really hope I can keep this up all the way to the end. Um... Having my doubts about that now, as I already have a huge plot hole that I know needs filling. ;) I had an epiphany re. the Big Bad, though, and let's just say... s/he isn't quite what I expected. But I think that's a good thing, as long as I make it surprising-but-ultimately-logical.

BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS:

40135 / 60000 words. 67% done!

--
Thanks to the lovely lilifae, I am reading an early UK copy of this:



Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters is everything I'd hoped for in the sequel to Generation Dead. I'm already almost halfway through and am totally in love with a new POV that has been added for this book. Oh, I can't say anything because of the huge spoilers for Book 1, but I think Mr. Waters might just be a genius. *g*