I wrote in a post a few a weeks ago my change of plans. I planned to write. To write and write and write. I wanted to be done in time to participate in #pitmad in June to allow myself to hopefully (fingers crossed) catch the eyes of some agents before I try to send out queries (and really catch the eyes of agents. fingers crossed).
Well, how has that gone.
I am pleased to say. I am on track.
I have officially finished writing the present timeline of The Criminal as of about 30 minutes ago. I wrote the last 2 chapters today.
That being said, there is still a ways to go. I still have to finish the past timeline and edit the book. And that is before I write a query letter, query agents, and do who knows what (I hope the agent helps me with that part) to get a publisher and then take steps to publish the book.
Having self-published before, I know very well that having the book entirely written (which mine is not) is a long ways off from having it published. There's still editing that needs to be done. Over and over and over so you don't miss any mistakes.
And then there's the formatting.
And the cover.
And printing and checking that things are right in the printed copy.
And with a publisher, I am sure there are other steps too.
So where do I go from here? I said I was on track. That implies I have a track, a plan to be on. So what is the next step in that plan?
That would be the past timeline.
Each of my books in the Once Upon a Tome series will have two plot lines running alongside one another. They are 100% connected and 100% both vital to the story and to understanding the character and both each individual book and the story overall. Most of the books will have one plot line in the past (a sort of "flashback" plot line though it is not smooch being told from the POV of flashbacks) and one in the present.
Currently, I have written (or rather, re-written) the present timeline. It was crap. I scrapped the entire thing (barring a few quotes I liked) and rewrote it with a much better plot that linked with the overall storyline much better.
I have not yet re-written the past timeline. I do not plan to scrap the entire past timeline. I do plan to make major edits, write a few chapters from scratch, and combine chapters to allow me to take portions out. I also need to go in and add a huge amount description because I had almost none in my first draft. But there will be a lot less "scrapping" and more picking apart and piecing together.
The plan is for this portion to take 2 weeks. Currently, the plan is for there to be 20 chapters in the past timeline. But I am a plantser. That means I like to plan but I also allow changes to happen in my writing along the way. I don't plan out every chapter to the max. So I could end up with more or less chapters.
With a current word count of about 38,000, I am hoping that the chapters will fill my book out and carry me over my goal of 80,000. My word count for draft 1 was around 91,000. I think some of that came from filler chapters I have removed but I do hope to achieve a word count that will ensure that my book is an excellent length for YA readers.
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