One Novel, Two Novels...

As of 10:36 p.m. last night, the first draft of Stopping By is finished. It came in at just a smidgen over 10,000 words, and I'm not completely happy with the ending, but hey, that's why I re-write before posting to The Online Writer's Workshop. I plan to resume working on Move Along Home this weekend, and maybe take another look at Jenny's Magic, the stalled YA short I've been fighting with. I should also prepare Rainfall for posting to workshop and then be a good workshop member and do some critiques over the next few days.

careswen currently has Into This Land in her mitts for editing. I actually wrote the first draft of this piece almost three years ago, but I've moved slowly with it, under the idea that secondary fantasy world short stories are almost impossible to place. So I've worked on it sporadically, finally coming to a draft I thought was strong.

A couple of nights ago I was looking over the workshop critiques I received on this story, and everyone said something to the effect of "This piece, while strong enough to stand on its own, feels more like the beginning of novel." Well, I wasn't writing novels at the time I received these crits, so I glossed over that part.

Then last night, as I stood in front of the mirror scrapping the little tiny hairs off my face, that annoying voice in my head whispered, "You should turn Into This Land into a novel."

The razor froze in place, and the eyes glazed over. "But," I said to the voice, "I still haven't finished the novel I'm working on."

"Well, lucky you to have two different novel ideas at the same time. Now finish the first one and start the next."

Damn voices.

So suddenly I'm writing the first draft of one novel and outlining a second one. And I need to make sure that the dozen or so short pieces I have going don't end up becoming forgotten, unloved stepchildren. They will get the attention they deserve. They will.

I would feel worried about having so many project, except I've proven, at least to myself, that I'm perfectly capable of finishing older projects even as I run off to write the next shiny thing in my head.

I feel like one lucky writer.

Despite the voices in my head.

In Peace
Michael

One Novel, Two Novels...

As of 10:36 p.m. last night, the first draft of Stopping By is finished. It came in at just a smidgen over 10,000 words, and I'm not completely happy with the ending, but hey, that's why I re-write before posting to The Online Writer's Workshop. I plan to resume working on Move Along Home this weekend, and maybe take another look at Jenny's Magic, the stalled YA short I've been fighting with. I should also prepare Rainfall for posting to workshop and then be a good workshop member and do some critiques over the next few days.

careswen currently has Into This Land in her mitts for editing. I actually wrote the first draft of this piece almost three years ago, but I've moved slowly with it, under the idea that secondary fantasy world short stories are almost impossible to place. So I've worked on it sporadically, finally coming to a draft I thought was strong.

A couple of nights ago I was looking over the workshop critiques I received on this story, and everyone said something to the effect of "This piece, while strong enough to stand on its own, feels more like the beginning of novel." Well, I wasn't writing novels at the time I received these crits, so I glossed over that part.

Then last night, as I stood in front of the mirror scrapping the little tiny hairs off my face, that annoying voice in my head whispered, "You should turn Into This Land into a novel."

The razor froze in place, and the eyes glazed over. "But," I said to the voice, "I still haven't finished the novel I'm working on."

"Well, lucky you to have two different novel ideas at the same time. Now finish the first one and start the next."

Damn voices.

So suddenly I'm writing the first draft of one novel and outlining a second one. And I need to make sure that the dozen or so short pieces I have going don't end up becoming forgotten, unloved stepchildren. They will get the attention they deserve. They will.

I would feel worried about having so many project, except I've proven, at least to myself, that I'm perfectly capable of finishing older projects even as I run off to write the next shiny thing in my head.

I feel like one lucky writer.

Despite the voices in my head.

In Peace
Michael