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It's done -- well, sorta
THE END
Those words have been at the bottom of my Word file since day one.
When I start a new document I always start with an old one and cut out all the text except the first paragraph (to keep the paragraph formatting), the title, and THE END. I write the first new paragraph, delete the old one and then from that point on, I push THE END further and further down the document as I write.
Today, however, I reached that point where the next words I would have written were: THE END.
End of first draft! 101,000 words, about 25% longer than I first envisioned but right in the middle of a good size for a novel. 350 pages in Times Roman font.
I'm printing it out now and will send it off to my agent for his feedback later on today. I made my pre-NECON deadline.
I'm not entirely happy with the ending. Endings are hard. There's so much more I could say about these characters as they recover from the wringers I've put them through. They still bear scars, physical, emotional and metaphorical. What will there lives be like from page 351 onward?
Maybe someday I'll come back to them, but their current story is done. At least I think it is--maybe my agent will have a different idea. I don't want the ending to seem rushed, and I know that there's one question that is probably unanswered, but my thinking is that it's the sort of question that is unanswerable. One of life's great mysteries.
I just hope my agent doesn't say, "Well, that was a nice bunch of typing. Now let's write a novel." Or something to that effect! I know the book needs a lot of work--I haven't revised a single page and I see clunky, awkward prose on any random page I might choose to pick from the stack, but it's work I'm more than willing to do. All I need to hear is an encouraging word from someone who thinks that the work might lead to something worth while.
We'll see!
Those words have been at the bottom of my Word file since day one.
When I start a new document I always start with an old one and cut out all the text except the first paragraph (to keep the paragraph formatting), the title, and THE END. I write the first new paragraph, delete the old one and then from that point on, I push THE END further and further down the document as I write.
Today, however, I reached that point where the next words I would have written were: THE END.
End of first draft! 101,000 words, about 25% longer than I first envisioned but right in the middle of a good size for a novel. 350 pages in Times Roman font.
I'm printing it out now and will send it off to my agent for his feedback later on today. I made my pre-NECON deadline.
I'm not entirely happy with the ending. Endings are hard. There's so much more I could say about these characters as they recover from the wringers I've put them through. They still bear scars, physical, emotional and metaphorical. What will there lives be like from page 351 onward?
Maybe someday I'll come back to them, but their current story is done. At least I think it is--maybe my agent will have a different idea. I don't want the ending to seem rushed, and I know that there's one question that is probably unanswered, but my thinking is that it's the sort of question that is unanswerable. One of life's great mysteries.
I just hope my agent doesn't say, "Well, that was a nice bunch of typing. Now let's write a novel." Or something to that effect! I know the book needs a lot of work--I haven't revised a single page and I see clunky, awkward prose on any random page I might choose to pick from the stack, but it's work I'm more than willing to do. All I need to hear is an encouraging word from someone who thinks that the work might lead to something worth while.
We'll see!
Comments
Whatever happens from here on out with the book, you can at least know you got it to this point. It's been fun watching your word count grow, and I'm looking forward to hearing what happens next.
Blu
and Mike Noonan and his wife Jo toast with Champaigne - isn't that how it goes?
Will you take a breather, or jump into another piece right away?
Next week I'll regroup and look at my stack of pending deadlines. I have a Cemetery Dance column due in about 4 weeks, an essay I want to write, still have work to do on the Trivia Book, and some short stories. Also a proposal to write for my next non-fiction project and a batch of book reviews to complete.
Ne'er a dull moment!
Only the weak brain cells won't survive.
I'm happy for you that you are at an ending for your book, congratulations. I am sorry that I wasn't killed off in it, but you know me, I keep harping on that.
Have a great time!
Lin
I will be in the woods of Southern Virginia at Boy Scout camp swatten skeeters and eating camp food! And positively no alcohol allowed!
Congrats on finishing your book - and I'm sure your agent will approve. ;D
You never know, some character's might just demand a sequel
Have a totally chilled weekend, and have lots of fun and have a good rest, you've more than earned one
It's probably a good think you finished before NECON - there may be some fried grey matter to deal with! ::)
Only the weak brain cells are gone. I remember after NECON 23, someone posted to the HWA bulletin board that they'd lost the photo chip from the digitial camera. Wag that I am, I commented that it certainly wasn't the first case of memory loss at NECON.
Now please start another novel: I enjoyed reading this novel in progress blog.
Best of luck finding a home for your work.
Slaps head! Do'h!
That just brought to mind the Omen Series of books:
The Omen - David Seltzer
Omen 2 - Joseph Howard
Omen 3,4,5 - Gordon McGill
Is this the same as a "House" name?
To the best of my understanding, a new house name will be created for this series of books. It's a not uncommon thing in some series fiction.
Kinda like a Multiple Personality Pseudonym
One of my favourite murder mystery writers is Lawrence Sanders, and I know when he died books were still released in his name, but written by at least two different authors.
Lin
Congrats on finishing the novel.
Is there a written rule on how many drafts and rewrites to make for a novel or does the writer just keep polishing and tweaking until it is to his liking, or does it depend on the agents and editors or is it the tale itself that tells the writer if he has achieve something approaching satisfactory result? ;D
Does the writer always have to do a proposal for upcoming novels especially if one don't have as much a clout as SK, Koontz, Crichton and the likes?
Just curious to know ;)
;D ;D
No rule, written or unwritten. Some people revise as they go so they end up with a pretty clean, fully edited draft that may only require polish. Some people write and rewrite and obsess so much that they are never satisfied, never finished.
Generally you don't do proposals, you write the book and try to sell it. Some authors, though, pitch particular books and try to sell them before they write them. I think that's the way Piers Anthony works, for eXanthle.
Sort of like a pitch meeting? Cause I read that there are quite a few of these mostly for new or previously unpublished writers during the various cons?
Most of the big publishers these days won't take unsolicited, unagented submissions. However, if you can bend an editor's ear at a writing conference and they ask you to send them something, then you get out of the slush pile and get to write REQUESTED MATERIAL on the front of your submission.
However, there's an expectation that the book is finished. Editor's will not buy a book from a first-time writer if it isn't finished because there are too many well-intentioned people who never get to THE END.
Once you're established, though, you can cut some corners and pitch story ideas before you've done the work. I'm sure someone like Chris Golden, who writes a lot of young adult and movie/TV tie-in books, works from proposals so he concentrate on what he knows he can sell.