Magic Under Stone la la la

[fabulousfrock]

Magic Under Stone is 75k right now (longest first draft I've ever written by 10k+, phew) and almost done. It's funny, I started this book in January, sent a proposal to my agent in February, set it aside until the offer in March, got back to work, hit the horrible middles in May and agonized until BEA, where I got the Sea and Sky edits, which

Comments

[jessica_shea]

Hey, that's what I'm doing today too! I've got a printed-out copy of Thrice and a pack of post-its and a purple pen. I'm kind of excited. I just need to make some tea...Good luck!

[fabulousfrock]

We can edit "together"! I need some tea myself...

[sheela_chari]

I'm in the horrible middles right now so this was nice to read. There is hope, right? I'm clocking in about 500+ words a day. It's the about the best I can do.

Sounds like you will get to the end soon! I know that sometimes I can't do the ending until I've lined up all my ducks beforehand.

Incidentally, I feel terrible I never got those 50 pages back to you. I don't know if it makes any difference to you now if I sent them to you...but if it would matter, I would still like to. The worst part is that I remember you remarking that sometimes you didn't hear back from everyone who offered to read and I thought to myself, What? I would never do that. And then...I did just that. I fear either you or I jinxed myself, though I;m sure it was me. :) Anyway, let me know...and I'm so sorry. There was just crazy revisions and summer at home with the kids that ate away all my time.

[fabulousfrock]

There is hope. Goodness. This book has been totally hot and cold, I'll get into a groove for a week and then have to force out words for another week or two...but it is true, manage just 500 words a day and somehow you will end up with a book in a reasonable time frame. It just feels a lot more miraculous to me than the books where I'm banging out over 1k a day, even though, with those books, I have a tendency to write ahead of where I've actually sensibly plotted sometimes.

50 pages? Was it Alfred and Olivia? Um, don't feel too bad because I don't even remember. I think it was that book but so many people wanted to read it I actually had to turn some away. I guess I didn't realize there are actually...fans...following my journal now. So I actually got quite a lot of feedback, enough to send it to feel confident sending it to my agent, and now I have notes from her I need to finish working on when MUS is done, so...well, you don't have to worry about reading it anymore. Just cross your fingers for me that she can sell it. =D

[sheela_chari]

It was Alfred and Olivia...and I'm glad you had enough people and that you had feedback from your agent. Because I didn't want you to look at me forever as that Sheela that doesn't return critiques. I know I wasn't weighing so heavily on your mind as such, but I just wanted to make sure. :) *feels better*

[kathleenfoucart]

I definitely need a hard copy for edits-- I can't wrap my brain around bigger cuts & such without taking a pen and just X-ing through whole passages.

Also, having a minor panic attack at the thought of 75k as a long first draft! *twitches*

[fabulousfrock]

Haha, I don't do much cutting with my drafts! Clearly we have opposite problems... I am so proud of myself for actually making it to 75k! Alfred and Olivia is 81k and will probably grow a bit more but it grew with many revisions...so it didn't feel the same as actually writing an 80k first draft straight through. Magic Under Glass was only 52k, wee little thing!

[patesden]

Congratulations!

I hear you about having to go back and edit before you could write the end--and about revising on a hard copy. Good luck and may your revisions fly.