I FINISHED MY 1ST DRAFT //writing tag (+SNIPPETS)

[WARNING: this post includes screaming in caps, snippets and long winded explanations of I-forgot-what about half way through explaining]

EEEK. YES.

The title speaks truth.

I am finished.
(as of today)

So wait on. What novel was I actually writing?? Glad you asked.

I was actually working on what was Monsieur Scattlocke and completely rewriting it, changing the genre, setting, characters, plot, all of the above. 
Several of the most significant changes are a) it's now called Rogue Escarlate because I completely got rid of the French bits and welp can't really keep the Monsieur in the title if it's not in the book, right? b) IT HAS A THEME THAT'S ACTUALLY HALF DECENT AND I'M HONESTLY RATHER PLEASED WITH. c) it fits with its sequel a ton better. d) I'm a lot more happy with how it is and way more enthused about it.

Good good. I hope I didn't lose the plot of that a-d list too rapidly.

Just in case you didn't get the point... *cue me spending an hour or so making a random aestheticy collage*

COOL EPIC STUFFS

This novel was not easy. Actually it was probably one of the hardest I've ever done. Particularly about three/four weeks back, I was really really struggling to keep going. I wasn't happy with my word count. I wasn't happy with how many chapters I had. I wasn't happy with how little words I was managing per day (aka 1k).

Then one day I did something that I probably should've thought of sooner. During my morning Bible reading I stopped and started praying. I listed off all the things that were dragging me down, the things that were feeling like burdens. Every single one. Then I took a deep breath and committed them all to God. 
Maybe my novel wasn't going to be as long as I wanted it to be, but that was okay. God would do what he wanted for me. 
Maybe I wasn't writing as much per day as I wanted to be, but that was okay. God has a plan for everything.

And I really believe that God was using that time as a lesson to me. He's so awesome and good yet somehow we still forget that when struggles are weighing us down until we feel like we're just going to snap we can go to Him and He's there ready to take our burdens.

And you know what? Not only since that prayer have I felt an amazing sense of peace and that He has a plan that He's working out in me. But that day that I prayed about my word count? I wrote five times as much as I had other days. And dude, that was not me. That was all Him.

STATS AND SYNOPSIS THINGAMY

As you hopefully gathered, my novel didn't turn out anything like the length I was hoping for BUT I'm cool with that. It might be only about half as much as I would've wanted really and yet God's taught me a beautiful lesson through it and I wouldn't have it any other way. 
Wherefore here are my chapters and word counts and stuffs.

I ended up with the full word count being 56,135 words, and thirty-one chapters.

Aaaand my scrambled thingamy of a synopsis which I really should try edit/rewrite before revealing it to your eyes but it's late and I finished my novel and I don't really care. :P


Two thousand, five hundred, and fifty-six days exactly.
Seven years of running from the Great Federation’s Agents didn’t leave much time for much else but running. That’s what an outlaw does.
Run. Or get caught.
Will preferred running.
And so he ran.

William Escarlate has spent his life running through the grasping fingers of the authorities. Escaping from the capital Moscow, he manages to slip beyond the borders of the Great Federation, only to find himself embroiled with another country’s rebellion. England is in the middle of a political struggle, gangs riot in the streets every second day, danger lurks to anyone who would step outside their door. 

Will is drawn into a gang of outlaws, fighting to regain his footing in a new country. It isn’t long before his hunters catch up with him, and he can never stop running if he wants to keep his life. Dodging agents for week after long week, he begins to hope that he might just have a chance of freedom after all these years.

But no one can escape the Great Federation forever.
Eventually everyone is caught.


SO YEAH. That's my synopsis at the moment. I think I'm actually going to change the seven years thing or else Will's age because I messed somethng up in my rewriting BUT THAT'S MARCH'S JOB. shh don't tell me that March is, like, a day away

WHAT'S NEXT?

GOOD QUESTION. Now...what is next??

Every now and then I feel like my writing plans for this year are slightly insane...but really. They are. They are insane. (I'm hoping to write at least three books and rough edit two and fully slam bang red pen edit one other. As I said. Insane.)
That said, my hopefully-completable-in-the-near-ish-future plans are more along the lines of

- Plot out Operation Flint! Aka the third and final book of my trilogy. I'm actually really excited for this because more Ben and Lexi and Jonathan and eep yes. And then I plan to write Operation Flint in April Camp NaNo. Which shall be epic fun.

- Sketch a rough edit over Rogue Escarlate. Mainly grabbing the typos, and adding in a few more scenes of a character that I forgot existed for most of the book.

- Once that's done I'm going to hand it over to my epic sister Clare and run away screaming as she cackles evilly and scribbles red pen all over it. Hopefully I might be able to get to that point by the end of March. Hopefully. GOSH THIS YEAR IS DISAPPEARING SO FAST ALREADY. I can't handle this.

- Yes yes official beta reading will happen eventually. I don't want to give out any dates but I desperately hope it will be this year. *screams into the abyss*

- I also want to try find time every week for some reading because I'm waaaay behind and I'VE ONLY READ FOUR BOOKS THIS ENTIRE YEAR AND THAT IS SHAMEFUL. Last year I'd read twenty-six books by this time and four isn't even comparable to that. But I really like reading and it's good for me to chill a bit and do something I enjoy and to keep that inspiration coming along nicely.

- And on top of all that, I want to keep up with my school work and being an epic big sister (and little sister hopefully too :P) and not shut myself away but to actually Live.

Phew. I would be daunted but...God's got this even though I don't.

FAVOURITES

I think my favourite chapter would probably be the climax because it has hopefully character arc and theme and making the 'right' choices and ironic poetic justice.

Not sure if that made sense to anyone else but anyway.

Favourite character is SUPER easy because BEN ALWAYS. Not sure why but Ben is just the best. He's probably my top favouroitest character I've ever written. I can seriously do so much when he's around though, and I pretty much never feel like I'm not sure about something with his personality.

And also, he doesn't like tomato soup, but tomato soup likes him. *wise nods*

YES I PROMISED SNIPPETS

So here goes!!

And since few days ago I got tagged for this writing tag by Gray, I thought that this would be a perfect post combo and boom yes it worked out quite well. (Thank you very much Gray!)
(also note, Gray is a brand new blogger and has already gotten some great writing posts so you should go check them out) So this whole post is some sort of mishmash of me rambling and some sort of tag that got lost off the cliffs of insanity. 

(and for those people that noticed, I accidentally posted this half of the post, like, when it was half written and not properly done and I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER CLICKING PUBLISH??? I just clicked save. I'm sure. But anyway. Ignore that post. This one is the right one. *face palm* Oops.)


Snippets? YES I LOVE SNIPPETS.
Except...that means...I have to show you my unedited first draft of a scene.
And it also means I somehow have to choose a scene?? Good luck with that.

Okay brace yourself. I'm going to throw snippets at you now.

- - -

“How did you do that?” Will couldn't move, everything frozen in the whirling thoughts and theories darting through his mind.

Ben shifted. “Well, uh, I hit that one, and then I hit that one and then I kicked him.” His lips lifted in a smile. “And hey, looks like we’re even now.”

“What?” The frown creased his brows tighter.

“You saved me, I saved you. Even.” The boy paused then shrugged. “Or not. Never mind me.”

“That’s not how you’re meant to use a gun, you know.” Will looked him up and down.

“This is generally not what you do in the middle of a street riot, you know,” he replied instantly.

An explosion came from right nearby and the boy stumbled a pace, almost tripping on a loose brick. Will caught his arm. “Don’t crack your head open, preferably, kid. I’m not finished talking with you yet. Now come on.”

- - -

-not sure I mentioned but Will kinda gets motion sick which can be interesting-

- - -

In reply the car serged forward, wheels spinning for a moment before gripping and skidding forward. The police scattered, diving aside with shouts of warning. Will braced himself, and the car slammed through the doors, smashing them into flying shards.

“This is insane,” Kins panted hard, steering the car straight down the hall, scraping the sides against the too near walls.

The front doors of tinted glass came speeding toward them far to fast. Will twisted, covering his face in his hands. The sound came like an explosion, shattering glass scattering across the sides of the car and onto the floor of the building. A chip cracked in the windscreen but it remained intact.

Kins whirled the wheel, turning onto the main road and speeding faster. Will’s stomach lurched, and he wrapped one arm around it, the other hand pressed against his firmly shut lips.

“That way!” He pointed frantically as Kins almost missed the turn off to the route back to the base.

Kins slammed on the brakes so hard that Will’s head knocked forward, forehead slamming into the roof. Stars spun in front of his eyes. Kins looked up anxiously. “You okay?”

“Just look where you’re going.” Allan yelped, grabbing the steering wheel as they almost crashed into the side of a brick wall.

“You can also go slower,” Will managed through his teeth, not daring to say more in case something came out that he didn’t mean to.

- - -

- - -

A small smile tweaked the corners of Ben’s mouth and Will shook his head. “What’s the point of being infamous if it doesn’t gain respect?”

“I have full respect for your infamousness.” Ben’s face was completely blank.

Will grabbed him into a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into the top of Ben’s head. “Oh really?”

“Ow,” Ben yelled, struggling and bursting  into laughter. “Lemme go.”

“Full respect, eh?”

“No.” Ben slapped at his arms, choking against the laughter. “I have no respect at all actually.”

Will released him, ruffling a hand through his hair. Ben ducked away, a wide grin transforming his face. “That’s better,” he said, satisfied. A moment later, he realised he was smiling.

Maybe that wasn’t such a strange thing after all.

- - -

- - -

Will rolled up the sleeves of his blue and green shirt, brushing a bothersome strand of hair from his eyes. He looked across the table at where Ben was sitting, his eyebrows going upward questioningly at the grimace on the boy’s face. 

Ben wrinkled his nose, mouthing something. 

A frown creased his brow. ‘What?’ he mouthed back.

Ben’s lips moved again but he still couldn’t make sense of them. He lifted one shoulder in a helpless shrug. He returned his attention to his bowl, waiting for the pot of soup to come down the line. When it came he reached in picking up the small tin they used as a ladle and dribbling the thick liquid into his bowl. Ben grimaced again from across the table, blanching slightly.

“Something wrong?” Will asked softly.

Ben leant forward as he passed the pot along. “Can I have your slice of bread?”

“Why?”

“I don’t like tomato soup, remember.” He grimaced. “It’s, like, the height of gross.”

A smile broke across Will’s face and he nudged the bread from the edge of his plate over to Ben. “Sure.”

“Thanks.” Ben scrunched his nose again. “I don’t know how you eat the stuff.”

“I guess we’re just tougher than you.”

Ben snorted. “Or I’m just better educated in the art of eating food that actually tastes nice.”

Will swallowed a mouthful of the soup. “If it makes you feel better to phrase it like that.”

The boy sniffed, grimaced, and took a bite of the bread.

- - -

And I just realised that practically all of those snippets are Ben moments. OH WELL. XD I'm keeping them there anyway.

I'm very proud of that last one. See look. They're doing a practical thing called eating. This is an unfortunately rare occurrence in my books.
On that note they didn't actually get any further than the snippet shows because SURPRISE. Something action happened and they never got to finish. 
But hey, Ben mentions food in the climax! That's got to count for something.


Well. this is probably one of my longest rambly posts in a while. No guarantees that any of it made sense although it was written before midnight. (yay me for being super speedy and whipping up this half decent smash of a thing to throw at you)
*gives pizza to anyone who actually read the whole entire thing* GOOD JOB IF THAT'S YOU.


Has God been giving you any lessons through your writing recently?
Feel free to share some snippets from your novel!!
(aka PLEASE DO SO BECAUSE I WANT TO READ THEM)
What are your writing plans?

Why I am doing NaNoWriMo

Some people have recently asked me why I'm doing NaNoWriMo*, and in my answering, I discovered that it was less than simple. So I decided a blog post was in call (and I was in need of ideas to schedule in my Hiatus/completely-insane-NaNo-writing Month anyway).


*Also, I should mention, this is the actual write-50k-in-a-month-National-Novel-Writing-Month. Not Camp. This is the real thing. The epic quest, not the backyard camp-out.

Reason #1
Because I am crazy basically, and may or may not have a death-wish-by-writing. *distant cackling*


Reason #2
Because several epic people have offered encouragement and it's VERY COOL.
Including someone saying that they'll be there to smash cake into my hair whenever I need it. 


Reason #3
Because...why not? Plus, it gives me a reason to put aside the struggle of editing Monsieur Scattlocke and reminding myself how much I love this series by writing book 2. (p.s. It's also definitely working)


Reason #4
It's pushing me to a higher level. Camp NaNo made me realise that I could write a lot more words in a lot less time than I ever realised. Actual NaNo has done the same again. Because apparently I can write 200 words in 5 minutes...I honestly didn't even know that was humanly possible. :P


Reason #5
Now...this is sort of the real reason. Basically because my sister Clare realised that for me, if you say I 'probably won't be able to do something' I will try my hardest to prove you wrong.
And so as we were talking about this one day she laughed (and trust me, there was a tinge of evilness in that laugh) and said "Yeah, but NaNoWriMo actually would be something you couldn't do."

So I'm doing it. From that moment I was going to do it.


And, do you know what?

I'm not worried about failing.

Because, ultimately, it won't be a failure. Yes, I might not reach the 50k words for the month. Yes, it will be hard (I'm dreading the moment that my first-few-days momentum drops off and I crash land in the mud). Yes, yes, yes.

But I will have learnt more about myself. More about my writing. More about the story. And more about all those amazing people who have promised (and already have) to stand by me through the month.

And hey! I'll have more words than I started with at least!


Okay, and since you asked, I'll give you the update for how many words I've written this month so far (not including today since I'm posting this in the morning before I get writing) :

*drum roll*

-15,306

Yep. You read right. To be honest I hae no clue how in the world I managed it. It's compltely insane?! And yet...I've got the words to prove it??!! What even?! HOW even?!

Someone slap me from this dream of wonder. :D
Are you doing NaNo this year? 
(if you are, we should totally be buddies *wink*)
Do you ever set personal writing goals for yourself?

|| Jane Maree ||

Beautiful Books - the NaNo Novel

So I finally decided to do one of these. And apparently it turned out quite fun, and plus cool new pictures.

I love making cool new pictures. And fiddling around to make it a unique/quirky/yeah just plain random header picture is always good fun.

So today I get to introduce you to the novel I will be writing for NaNoWriMo. Agent Kit, book #2 of The Outlaw Legends! Including lots of car chases, outlaws, guns, bashing things, grumpy Generals, and mushroom clouding explosions.

As I said. Good fun.

So I'm gonna answer some questions so you know a little bit of what I'm talking about.


1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

Well, it's a sequel to Monsieur Scattlocke, so it came somewhere while I was writing that and I realised that this story totally wasn't about to stop. And plus, that character totally needed a story from his point of view. I'm guessing I had Agent Kit in my head since about...June/July-ish.

And book 1 didn't satisfy my thirst for dystopian (considering most of it was actually in 'the Experiment' which is all faked medieval-times), so I needed more of the hacking and tech and flying cars (called Vans) and guns and security-camera-dodging and all of that stuff. Wherefore, Agent Kit is lacking in none of them.


2. Describe what your novel is about!

Synopsis time!

AusIntel Undercover Agent Benjamin Kit never meant to get lost. He'd been minding his own business spying in the Middle East when he took a wrong turn and found himself in the middle of Britain.

Now back in his home-ground, he thinks that maybe things will start making sense again. It doesn't last long. 

When tragedy occurs, throwing the AusIntel Headquarters into chaos, Ben is determined to prove Will Escarlate's innocence, and find the man who actually did it.

With mad car chases, narrow escapes and gun shots flying in all directions, Ben is doing what he was trained to do.

And being hunted by the entire world isn't as easy as he'd thought. 

So yeah, basically it's about Ben Kit and Will Escarlate running around in the Great Federation making the General (leader/head dude of the GF) very annoyed and trying to save the world.


3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like!

Not sure if I should mention that all these pics are reasonably innocent and happy compared to the blood and gutsy stuff of the actual book...Nah, I'm not going to mention that. 
I mean, take a look at that little gap the guy is jumping across. Pfft. That's got nothing on jumping from a flying Van, smashing through a window and...whatever Ben decides to do next. You never know with Ben. He could be dropping in to buy hot chicken for all I could guess.


4. Introduce us to each of your characters!

(Main Character)
Ben Kit: a quirky dork, good (depending on your definition of the word) at driving in a car chase even though technically he can't actually drive, AusIntel (the Australian Intelligence Service) Undercover Agent (not 'officially' finished training, but that's just another technicality), loyal to his friends, reasonably good when it comes to all those fight scenes, including the one just after he got shot. Oh yeah, spoilers. *laughs evilly*

(MC from book 1/second main/what even does he do in this book other than get motion sickness?)
Will Escarlate: Big time outlaw (from everywhere but Australia, and that's a tentative statement at the moment), was the leader of the Sherwood outlaws before--nah scrap that, more spoilers. Not a good person to have on car chases as he has a bad case of getting motion sickness, a highly good companion when it comes to all things running, outlawing, sneaking around the Great Federation and


5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?)

Howling. Lots of howling. Oh and plotting. I've done a bit of that, but it's still pretty vague as of yet. And NaNo is tearing down on me like a...like a...a Van that Ben is driving. I think my doc after NaNo will be very keyboard-slam-filled.


6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel?

Writing it. And falling in love with the characters again. And explosions. And fight scenes. And I promise I'm perfectly sane.


7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.

Uh, dystopian. Big city with lots of flying Van things. Erm...Lots of explosions. The setting is...okay, I'll revert to a picture.

Allll the gloomy darkness. That actually looks sort of depressing. Probably because it doesn't show any of the snarky comments and Ben's often-amusing thought train.


8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way?

Erm...*thinks hard* *jumps onto Scrivener to check out the planning sheet* Um. Basically he's tying to prove that Will didn't do you-don't-know-what and you-don't-know-who actually did do you-don't-know-what and to do that they need to get by you-know-who/the villian/General Malevich.

So...yeah.


9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

Ahem. Well...he's got several more scars. He knows more about actual fighting, not just training. He's in trouble up to his neck (no difference there). To be honest I haven't plotted all the way to the end so I'm just making this up as I go right now. He and Will are now permanently inseparable friends. *has a flash of inspiration* Ooh that's mean...that's really mean. I gotta go write that down.


10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?

They should be in the depths of despair and agony of course. Not that I know how it's ending, but I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be happily ever after. Hence there's a book 3.

On a more serious note, I think some of the themes would be loyalty to friends (and friendship in general), and standing up against the wrong and stuff. And explosions.

Well...I blew that serious moment just then didn't I? *laughs*

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Except I'm not.


And now you have a few snippets more of an idea of what this book is even about. Not that I know very much. But that's what the NaNo-prep month is for: freaking out about not knowing.

But I'm really looking forward to NaNo. Bashing my head against the keyboard. Killing the laptop battery. Carrying around my Agent Benjamin Kit pens (WHICH ARE SO AMAZING AND IT'S LIKE FANDOM SWAG STUFF OF MY OWN BOOK THAT I HAVEN'T EVEN WRITTEN YET, THANK YOU OH MY SISTER OF EPICNESS).

In general: It's gonna be great.

I mean, I might die, but I'll have fun doing it so...*shrugs*


So what are you doing for NaNo? 
(if you aren't doing it, how's the general writing stuff going?)
Was this at all informative, or are you just as clueless as me?

|| Jane Maree ||

Monsieur Scattlocke - the Completion of Draft the 1st

*showers everyone with pizza and confetti*

In case the title didn't make it obvious enough:

I finished the first draft of my WIP Monsieur Scattlocke!!!

*screams forever*

So in celebration, I thought I could have some fun here, and actually tell you something about the book and pass out some pizza and snippets.

Yus. Snippets.

But we'll get to that later.

Now, technically I finished the first draft on Thursday the 8th, but I just took this long to get around to doing a post. Better late than never though!

I'm gonna put up allll the numbers and stuff of the finished 1st draft just for fun

Words | 62k

Chapters | 21

Pages | 174

Characters (no spaces) | 289,504

Paragraphs | 3,386

And, as you may have noticed from the picture, I've now named the series.  The Outlaw Legends (because basically everyone is an outlaw by the end. Mwahahaha). And I've admitted to myself that there's going to be (probably...maybe...hopefully) three books (*screams* I've said it now. I've admitted to myself that there's three books not just two. I can do this. I can *dies*). Monsieur Scattlocke, Agent Kit, and...Something Flint that I haven't a clue on yet.


Ooh hey, now we need to have a synopsis.

2556 days exactly.

Seven years was too long a time to be outlawed for. Yet here Will was, dismally remembering the day when the Great Federation had officially claimed him an outlaw. 

They’d even put six hundred ciphers on his head.

That was nothing to the six hundred million it was now.

William Escarlate, an outlaw running from his past, finds himself in the middle of Britain. Yet it is not the Britain most would expect. The Eastern Empire has forced it into a real life Robin Hood reenactment - their only hope to stall the world-wide war.

His hopes to begin his life afresh as a Frenchman under the name Monsieur Scattlocke are dashed when an enemy agent sees him and Will must go on the run once more.

This time he runs with the Sherwood Outlaws.

It isn't long before Monsieur Scattlocke becomes the outlaw leader, and his name is famous across the country for his daring escapes and rescues. Will hopes that perhaps there might be a chance that his past has left him behind.

But no one, not even the infamous outlaw leader, can escape the Great Federation forever.

Eventually, everyone is caught.

*epic soundtrack starts playing*

And now we need some snippets!!!

I was going to do the first paragraph and the last one (although, technically the first bit is at the beginning of the synopsis) but then I kinda realised that the last sentence is a pretty big spoiler and I don't want to ruin it all.

(Because yes. When beta-reading stage comes along...*grins like crazy*)

Wherefore I have spent another fifteen minutes scrolling through the document looking for some other random scene. 

And attempting to convince myself that you all know it's first draft, unedited stuff, so it doesn't matter how terribly terrible it is. *cringes*

So here's one from the beginning of chapter the 18th:

Will pulled down the wanted sign, screwing it into a ball in his fist without caring to look at it.

They were everywhere.

Allan, Ivan, Meldon, Kingsley and Tain.

Even Emir.

But most of them were Will.

Every week, every day that past, Will could feel the noose tightening.

He couldn’t last much longer.

Every day he left the camp half not expecting to return.

“They still can’t get my hair properly.” Emir squinted at his own wanted sign in his hand. “I mean, just look at that.” He pushed it under Will’s nose.

A smile danced across Will’s features at the sketch. “Maybe you should get a re-style,” he suggested, nodding at the sign. “It quite suits you.”

The Arab boy snorted through his nose. “Yeah right.” But a grin quirked up the corner of his mouth.

Another six weeks and Will would have been in Britain for a year.

But something inside him said that either one way or the other he wouldn’t be in Britain at the end of those six weeks.

Either he would have run, or be caught.


Hmm...that was a bit of a mixture of amusing and depressing...lets see if I can find one more. This one is from chapter 14.

There was no time to be careful anymore, if the coast was clear now, it wouldn’t be for long. Will flipped the trapdoor open the rest of the way, letting it thud softly against the ground.

Right in front of a pair of riding boots.

Will froze, slowly raising his eyes.

“What, I ask you, do you think you are doing here?” Merian put her hands on her hips, a scowl over her fair features.

Will gaped. “I...sorry, my lady,” he choked, shock and relief making it hard to get the words out.

She raised her eyebrows. “I should think so,” she remarked sternly. “Now, quick. Tell me what you’re doing here or I’ll tell father.”

“Rescuing Allan and Ivan,” Will said hesitantly.

She wouldn’t tell her father.

Would she?

She cocked her head to one side. “From our stables? Last I checked they were in the Sheriff’s prison.”

“They were but then we got them out,” Will shrugged awkwardly. “Through a trapdoor.”

“And why are you here now?”

“Because this is where the trapdoor went to,” Will said helplessly. “I had no idea.”

“Uh, Will...” Emir’s voice floated up from below. “Who are you talking to?”

“Don’t worry,” Will called down. Looking back at Merian he waited pleadingly.

“Why is there a tunnel from the Sheriff’s dungeon to our stables?” Merian demanded, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Long story,” Will said. “I'll tell you some time.”

There. Hopefully the 1st draft-ness doesn't make it too bad. I almost gave them an edit before posting them but I resisted because the whole point was it was a 1st draft thing. 

Speaking of editing.

*deep breath*

That's what's next up for me.

I took a three-day break after the finishing of draft the first, and then...

it

began.

The stage of dreaded editing.

Now. To be entirely honest I opened the document on day one and thought "Aw c'mon. It can't be as hard as they all say."

Ten minutes later I was slumped at my desk with my head on the keyboard, groaning like a wookiee.

And yes, I can make a noise like a wookiee.

But no. Don't ask me to now. Wait until I'm editing and I'll do it without having to be asked.

But!!! I'm not going to moan about the fact that I've done, like...one chapter so far (if anyone happens to have some editing inspiration, PLEASE HELPPP MEEE), because this post is about the finishing of draft the first! Which is a matter for celebration and pizza!

*hands out some more pizza*

Here's some random facts about Monsieur Scattlocke, because you totally wanted to know.


#1 | it's the longest novel I've ever written so far. (I've technically only done one other completed more-than-one-draft novel (The Bridge of Anskar - although it isn't quite long enough to count as an actual novel so it'll have to go by novella) so it's not a hard thing to do really)

#2 | I cannot work out what genre it's in...I mean, it's dystopian...except they spend most of the time in a forced-back-to-medieval setting. Is there a genre for Robin Hood Retelling?

#3 | the idea came to me about March this year.

#4 | the first scene I wrote when I first had the idea actually never happens in the story.

#5 | the sequel is going to be nothing like I had originally planned.

#6 | like, NOTHING.

#7 | there are cool flashbacks and melting slushy snow and Russia is probably completely different from how I imagine it. But that's their problem, right?

#8 | I really wanna tell you something, but it's a big spoiler so I can't. xD

#9 | they actually...kinda...fail at the story goal in the end.

#10 | hence there's a sequel. Which may or may not fail as well (I haven't actually worked it out yet). Hence there's also...(come on. Just admit it) there's also a third book.


Eeep. Basically, I'm so excited about finishing the first draft. And I'm very pleased at the length too. Like, 21 chapters is pretty cool.

And you guys are all so amazing for listening to my rant, and being excited with me, because that's just what you're good at.

*jumps up and down on one foot several times*

*noms on pizza*

That's it, I guess, then. But tell me all your own novelling experience, and I shall proceed to give you pizza and confetti. And if you're doing editing, we can cry together. And more pizza.

Basically, there'll be lots of pizza.

|| Jane Maree ||