Even with the best of intentions, there are days life kicks you in the butt. There are days you are the runner defending Able Township, and there are days you are the lurching, shuffling undead in search of brains and possibly help for your query letter. This was one of those weeks where i was the shuffling undead, at least when it came to excercise.
As of posting this Friday morning I have run one mission, Thursday afternoon, I went out with Runner 8. The first thing I picked up was an axe, and I was glad. I was pretty sure Runner 8 was ten seconds away from falling prey to zombies and turning on me the entire run. Really, she frightens me.
The run itself started out fine. Everything starts out fine. Books, query letters, running from zombies... By the second lap I was feeling pretty confident. No worries. By the third I was wondering if I was done. By lap seven I was shaking and ready to let the zombies eat me, Runner 8 and New Canton be [pick a verb]-ed.
I feel the same way about books this week, at least my books. EVERY HERO NEEDS A VILLAIN in particular. I was so close to finishing it Monday I could taste it. The words were flowing, everything was just fine. On Tuesday I felt like I was queen of the world. This morning I finished the draft and was ready to burn the whole thing, write writing off as a failed experiment and take up scorpion petting as a hobby. It would be so much less traumatizing.
Days like this, I keep writing for the same reason I keep running, someone else is counting on me. Granted, it's a cheap psychological trick, but it works. I keep trying to perfect my books because I want you - my reader - to have the best.
I was hoping the end of September would bring a new contract and a release date for EVERY HERO NEEDS A VILLAIN. Instead, I scrapped the book I spent all summer on and did something completely different. With a little polishing I hope it will be something you love. If it isn't, well, I have something else in the works for you. Shhh! It's still a secret!
Have a wonderful weekend!
-Liana
LOL. I love the shuffling zombie image. :D Yes, there are days like that. When I was running every other day, I felt like that too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the writing, I'm glad you're still doing it. I love your stories. They are well thought out and very polished. Gives me hope for the indie publishing world. :D Seriously, I'm not making that up.
Can't wait to see what you come up with next. :D And yes, sometimes you have to chuck it all. My first MS, Stone of Unity, I finished after 4 months of work. All 60K words. It was glorious, then I decided it didn't work. I'm working on something else right now, but I'll be back to rewrite the first MS at some point. Rewrite, as in throw all 60K away and start over.
Speaking of pitching stuff, Tessa Gratton (author of Blood Magic and Blood Keeper) admitted to throwing over 250K words away on Blood Keeper alone. Don't feel bad, it happens all the time.
I wrote my first full novel in a spiral notebook in high school. I thought all I had to do was type it up and let the money come pouring in!
DeleteYou will never, ever, EVER see that novel. Ever. It's that bad. First drafts can be insanely bad. They frighten me.
Good luck with your work!