Writing Update: Fae Series and 2020 Wrap-Up
Picture this. It’s the middle of a pandemic that you 100% believed would be over by April, but it’s now the end of the year. You’ve been working on the same book all year, you’ve changed jobs twice, you’re going a little bit stir crazy, and you’re failing NaNoWriMo. What do you do next?
Well, I called up one of my best friends and fellow authors, and we planned our own little Writing Retreat. This past weekend, Sarah Lizz and I holed up in a little lakeside home. We watched cute and disappointing Disney movies, we got fancy cocktails, we had amazing sandwiches from an unexpectedly good restaurant, and we walked around the lake. But mostly, we wrote, from sunup to sundown. Over the course of 2 days I doubled the Word Count of Book 2 from ~25K words to just over 50K.
Being honest, there was quite a bit of guilt going on, at least on my end, with taking this trip. I wondered if it was irresponsible, or selfish, or frivolous. But I also knew that I needed it. Work stress has been mounting for a while, my apartment was becoming claustrophobic, I’m working against numerous deadlines to publish this book how I’d like, and I just needed a change of scenery and a mental break. I appreciate that many people aren’t in a place to just take a break right now, but I also appreciate that I am, and that I did. And aside from just adding words to Book 2, this time away also allowed me to really think about the next 2 years (!) of my life, and game plan what needs to happen for each book in this trilogy.
Book One - Expected Date 10/19/21
My goal is to finish my Beta Reader led edits of Book 1 by February 28th. In that same timeframe, I’m going to also finally choose a Book Title and Series Title, start working with a cover designer, and (finally) finalize my book’s “back blurb” text. There’s a little wiggle room in this timeline but by the end of March, Book 1 should be in more or less its final narrative form, and then I’ll be looking for a Copy Editor!
The biggest thing that my Beta Reading feedback revealed to me was that people need less description about the structure of the fairy world (apparently people don’t care how often the Court meets lol) and more personality from Ava’s friends. It’s funny - I think they’re such clear people to me, that when I was editing for clarity I inadvertently kept cutting the things that showed their personalities. So I’m probably going to end up shortening the beginning and lengthening the middle of my book, which actually makes a ton of sense and will give me room to include more scenes with people using their dust, and more general hijinks.
Another change I’m excited to make came after a conversation with my business + writing partner, Alyssa. We were talking about the significance of Ava’s lost memories, and I realized that I do somewhat drop the thread in the middle of the book. As I explained to her what readers will eventually learn about Ava’s memories, I realized that there is a really compelling phenomenon about Ava’s memories and thoughts that I never really give readers a chance to see. I’m looking forward to weaving that in as well.
Other than those 2 main things, I’m also looking forward to bringing the drama a little bit more. People wanted more about the evils of the Court, more of a sense of danger, and more action. I have great ideas about how to introduce all of those things to the book, and I’m excited to get started.
Book Two - Expected Date 4/25/22
For Book 2, I realized recently that I backed myself into a somewhat accelerated timeline to complete everything I want to complete and publish this by the deadline I have in my mind. I know that a self-imposed publishing deadline may seem arbitrary, but working towards a strict deadline is what finally got this trilogy off the ground. That being said, my goal is to be finished with the first draft of Fae Book 2 by the end of this year.
Based on Book 1, and how far I am into the plot so far, I think the first draft of Book 2 is going to level out at somewhere between 80 and 90 thousand words. For context, Book 1 was around 87K in its first draft, and now currently sits at 95K, so between 80 and 90K is right where I’d want this second first draft to be. Originally, I had given myself all the way until the end of February to finish this book, but hitting 50K this weekend really accelerated my timeline.
It also helps that I’m going to be on vacation from work from the 23rd until the 1st. Even knowing that I probably won’t write on Christmas, I definitely think that writing 20-30K words over 8 days is a very realistic goal for me. I’m currently also studying for LSATs, so the sooner I can get this book finished, the more time I’ll have to split my focus solely between Book 1 edits and LSAT studying. Trying to do all 3 concurrently has been rough. Once Book 2 is written, I’ll probably let it rest for a month and then do a quick edit in early February, before sending it off to my developmental editor.
Book Three - Expected Date 10/18/22
Don’t worry - I don’t have anything going for this book just yet. I am probably going to start plotting out what needs to happen in Book 3 very soon though! My goal is to write this book over April-June of next year. Yes, that’s right, 6 months from now, I’m expecting that all 3 books in this trilogy will be (mostly) written. I’ve never held myself to real deadlines with my writing before, but like I said earlier, it has really transformed my writing game.
Ultimately - I’m really excited about where I am in this journey, and what I have on my schedule to wrap up 2020. I know this hasn’t been the best year for many people, but I will always remember this year as the year I put in the work to take Fae from an ambiguous dream to a for sure reality. And I can’t wait for 2021: The year I become a published author!
