One Step Forward, Two Some Other Way
Writing four books a year is something new to me. When I try new things, I make mistakes and screw up and generally scuff my knees and cuss and swear at least once or twice. (We shan’t speak about me re-learning how to ride a bike as an adult, aka: the mailbox incident, hmmm?)
In March I found myself shuffling book deadlines that looked like this:
- Finish book #7: MAGIC ON THE LINE, send to editor
- Outline book #8 of the Allie Beckstrom series
- Receive page proofs for DEAD IRON
- Write on book#8 Allie Beckstrom series
- Proof DEAD IRON, send to editor
- Write on book#8 Allie Beckstrom series
- Receive revision letter MAGIC ON THE LINE
- Revise MAGIC ON THE LINE, send to editor (some of this fell into April)
This week, I’m back to writing book #8 of the Allie Beckstrom series. I opened the file, all ready to get typing and discovered…..
…..it’s wrong. I started the book in the wrong place. More than that, I don’t think the tone, the scene, or the plot progression fit. I’ll likely throw out what I have written so far.
It’s not the first time this has happened. Being a writer means making mistakes, learning how to fix and accept them, and moving on beyond them. With more deadlines than I can shake a stick at, it also means I need to learn how to recognize mistakes and recover from them as quickly as possible.
I think I’m on the right foot now with book #8. Of course I don’t know that for sure….won’t know it until the book is finished and turned in to my editor. But I like this start. It feels right, and seems to be falling together faster and easier than the previous version. And that is a Very Good Thing. 🙂
One Comment
Julie
Oh no! That must irk you at least just a little that you have to start book 8 over. But it’s nice to know that you like the direction it’s going in now.