Okay, I have finished inputting all the previously-written material, as I posted about last week. I have around 30,000 words and exactly 99 pages. Since the threequel will need to be approximately the same length as the first two books in the series, 90-100,000 words, that means I have around 1/3 the material that I need.
Here are the pages I’ve been inputting all these weeks. I drew blue lines across pages that had already been put into the computer.
I am going to try to write about five new pages a day, which means I will have a complete rough draft in forty days.
Except, who am I kidding? I know myself, and I know I will never write that much that quickly. But I’ll try to write at least something new each day, and meanwhile will look at the other material that will need to be folded into what I have now. This will be an intense combination of original writing and revision, all at the same time.
As for the material I just finished inputting, there were numerous places where I needed to expand or make other changes. Mostly I didn’t do that, but instead indicated what would need to be done later. I put those things in brackets, as a reminder to myself. This is a good technique for any writer during the creation of a first or second draft. It is often easier to write the difficult but necessary bits later, after you’ve let it marinate in your unconscious for a while. For example, here’s part of a scene from page 96:
Evvy had expected something of this sort. Even so, it took all her will to keep from running, from calling out to Baby for help. This was, after all, part of her plan, which she hoped would soon bring her face to face with Katha.
The men roughly grasped her arms, then stood beside her, holding so tightly she nearly cried out. [details of surroundings]
“Take her to be prepared,” the headman said.
As indicated, I’ll have to include here more details of where she is, what it looks, sounds, and smells like. Wish me luck!
Good luck! I find highlighting, bracketing and changing font color great ways to zero in on places to add to or improve in a non-linear way. If I'm stalled out on moving something forward, I can scan back and spot the areas I wanted to work on "later." Sometimes something will click. If not, I can move on to the next one without having to read through the intervening parts.
ReplyDeleteYes! All GREAT suggestions. I have always used these methods, but they are even more crucial when you're working onscreen.
DeleteI hope people are reading these comments. I might expand on your suggestions in a future post.